


Predator: Huntress Alpha

by KaterinaWinters



Series: My Predator World [4]
Category: Alien vs Predator (2004), Aliens vs Predators Series - Various Authors, Predator Original Series (1987-1990), The Predator (2018)
Genre: F/M, Monsters, Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Teratophilia, Yautja
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:14:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 63,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27732883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaterinaWinters/pseuds/KaterinaWinters
Summary: She was out of options. She needed help, a concept that was once alien to her. But with her pride stripped away and guilt weighing her down, she no other choice. If not for her, then she would do it for the sake of her child. Silent and begrudging the hunter offered her his help, curiosity scoring through the back of his mind. There was something not right about the human, something he would get answers to.
Relationships: Yautja (Predator)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: My Predator World [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1244696
Comments: 100
Kudos: 234





	1. Chapter 1

With her back pressed to the wall, Justice controlled her breathing and listened to the sounds of the group of people she was running with pass her by. Something had seemed wrong when she scanned the ship ahead. Relief should have flooded her nervous system with endorphins at the sight of the ship--the last ship on LV549. But her instincts had burned hot and bright in the back of her brain, forcing her to clutch the bundle at her chest tighter and veer suddenly off course. Some of the people she had been running with slowed and gave her a frantic questioning look before snatching their gazes away impatiently, their will to survive demolishing any sort of camaraderie they may have had as they sprinted towards the ship.

Looking down at the round pair of innocent eyes nestled between her breasts, Justice slipped her hand through the makeshift carapace shield and ran her fingers lovingly across the tiny warm scalp and the black silken curls covering it. Turning her head to the side, Justice looked back up towards the hangar as the group of survivor's footsteps tromped noisily against the metal bridge. It was too quiet. After days and days of inhuman screeching and the very human cries of terror and agony coating the air of LV594, now all of a sudden it was quiet? Now the last drop ship on the planet was just an island of safety, docked serenely at the hangar? Like hell it was, Justice thought with a sneer of anger, her own flare of hope she foolishly let ignite guttering and snuffing out entirely with her anger. Not bothering to wait for the inevitable, she clutched the bundle to her chest tighter and raised the rifle with the other, and ran in the opposite direction.

She was crossing the narrow catwalk that bordered the underside of the bridge that led back towards the colony's storage facilities when the screams started. Running faster and quieter, Justice pulled the shitty tech's helmet back over her face. It wasn't her helmet, but it was getting the job done. Out of the seven hundred plus colonists that lived on this planet, Justice was almost certain only a tiny fraction of that were still alive--for now. All of them now half-dead hosts for the invading force that arrived on a distressed ship that wasn't properly quarantined. Slipping onto the storage facility's ladder, Justice awkwardly shouldered the gun while keeping a comforting hand on the squirming bundle of life strapped to her chest and made her way up. Going inside the building was no longer an option. A lot of things were no longer an option, she mentally snorted in disgust.   
For four days since she activated the planet's alarm, sleep had not been an option. For four fucking days, she had been stuck on one side of the colony, away from the dorms where everything she needed was stored. Between running through the day, avoiding the main corridors that were rife with monsters and their face-hugging fucking spawn, and stopping to feed her own doe-eyed spawn, she was down to only one option. The option that was now no longer an option she could avoid, and what she had wanted nothing more to do since the moment she saw the slick black surface of the xenomorph's head appear on the camera. On the storage building's roof, Justice crouched and stared out at the colony below. Like the legs of a spider, the corridors branched out towards silver domed structures, each one different in their purpose: the main engineering hub, the common areas, sanitation, various science labs, greenhouses, logistics, and namely the dorms. 

If she could get to her dorm then get through to the labs where half a dozen escape pods still sat uncompromised, she could get off this swarming planet. But the labs were no doubt a thriving hive nest by now. Justice imagined the bodies of the science officers plastered to the walls covered in sticky, pellucid xenomorph secretions, and she let out a steady breath. Justice would need her suit in her dorm if they were going to make it through that. With her suit and her gun, she would carve her way through that nest in seconds. Taking a deep breath, she looked to the benign-looking dorms in the distance. Also most likely rife with serpent-like aliens, just waiting for her to fall for the human lure of comfort and safety their domiciles provided, just like they waited in hiding at the drop-ship behind her. Intelligent and hungry, the disgusting creatures had laid a trap for the last group of survivors. Looking down at her chest, Justice stared into the silent infant's familiar brown eyes, and she felt the diaminium skeletal frame in her body harden as her mind formulated a plan. 

One way or another, she was going to get her daughter off this planet.


	2. Chapter 2

Justice knew she was being watched. 

It wasn't a guess, nor was it merely just a feeling. The feeling of eyes tracking her movements felt so certain, so tangible it surpassed being just a hunch. It was an infallible sensation thrumming through every nano-receptor in her body. It was daytime again, and she was standing outside the common area's massive silver dome. Big enough to house a mess hall to feed every inhabitant of the planet at one time, the common area was equipped with three gyms, a pool, two rec rooms, and a movie theater, a project that had cost nearly two million credits to build and was now a desolate ghost town crawling with sentry level xenomorphs. 

Last night, she had spent the night holed up in the extremely narrow access tunnel letting Larsa feed and sleep. Two things the child was not happy to do while still strapped in her harness, something Justice was sure Larsa vehemently hated by now by the way she wiggled with increased agitation. But by the blessing of the stars and the moon, the baby had hardly cried the past few nights. Could the baby sense the unsettling quietness that had settled over the small planet? Or did she Instinctively discern the lack of screams ripping through the air or how the siren that had rang constantly for two days straight had suddenly stopped as if it too sensed the hopelessness of LV594's situation. Or did she just look up to see her mother silently plead with her every second to please be continue being a good baby and stay quiet for momma?

After letting Larsa sleep through the night while Justice stayed awake, with her insides coiled tight and her finger gently resting ready on her rifle's trigger, they were now on the move again. Xenomorphs didn’t really sleep, not when they were actively feeding and breeding like this. It was more of a dormant rest they allowed themselves during the daylight hours since hunting in the cover of darkness was preferred. But make no mistake, the aliens would kill during the day. Justice knew just as the sun rose and fell that the serpent aliens would chase her across LV594's desert in the bright afternoon light with little trouble and do everything in their power to mow her down. Meaning that fact did not help with the added knowledge that she was currently being silently stalked. Quietly, Justice skirted the dome building making her way to the giant square-shaped building about four hundred yards away, all the while constantly scanning her surroundings, trying to find the eyes that watched her.

Five days now, she had been awake for five days straight. Pausing, Justice crouched near a large scraggy bush near a covered corridor. Even in her borrowed mask, Justice narrowed her eyes at the gale of gusting wind tearing through the sandy terrain and pulled the makeshift shield tighter over Larsa's little body. When it all happened, Justice had been working her shift in the primigenius lab. Just as she always did, Justice had brought Larsa to work with her, letting the baby sit in her portable playpen while Justice documented and cared for the gigantic animals. With her extensive knowledge in predacious species behavior, working with docile mammoth primigenius was on the surface very out of the ordinary. Although, between the gentleness of the gigantic beasts and the quiet solitude of her job, the slow, peaceful life she established had helped her begin to heal. Justice had felt the improvements within her, she had felt her fractured confidence mend and the weight of her guilt become more bearable--but now all of that was gone. One person's fuck up had cost her and every one of this planet everything. Their costly error had reverted her back to exactly what she had been trying to distance herself from. 

Thankfully, Larsa's baby bag had her harness in it, and with the calling feature on her gun, it had taken only a few minutes for her gun to come flying across the colony, nothing standing in the path of the rifle's anti-matter rounds until it landed securely in her grip. Within the first hour of the xenomorphs assault on LV594, three more of its kind spawned and matured, and it didn’t take long for Justice to encounter one. Making sure to avoid hitting the carapace, she had set the rounds of her anti-matter rifle to vacuous warped shots. Each round of the sparkling black anti-matter hitting and obliterating the target while pulling in the acidic blood into its warp, preventing the dangerous spray-back. Cleaning out the shiny black carapace and shaping it, Justice attached it over the front of her harness, shielding Larsa. It was a foul and ugly looking piece of armor, but she had little choice. There was only one thing that repelled the xenomorph acid, and that was the glossy black hide of xenomorph skin. Protecting Larsa from any face-hugger or acidic spray-back was all that mattered.

Now, the only thing Justice needed was her goddamn suit. 

Pausing outside of the foggy translucent dome of the corridor, Justice picked up the sounds of footsteps--human footsteps. Pushing herself back into the dry brush, she watched as two people ran hunkered down, their heads swiveling right and left as they skittered across the long corridor. Justice simply watched. They were headed towards the dorms as well. Did they seek the safety of their rooms, thinking they could hole up in there until help arrived? Or were they trying to get back to their rooms in hopes of reaching a comms unit so that they could hail for help? Justice watched as they disappeared from sight, her face impassive. Either way, they were dead, she surmised. Help was not coming. 

A direct competitor of the Weyland-Yutani, the Undul corporation who owned and operated LV594, would not waste one penny sending out a rescue operation for this lost cause. Pulling up her holo-data interface in the palm of her hand, Justice pulled up a map of the dorms. The two survivors would probably try going up the service elevators on the right or the stairwell on the left, avoiding the main elevator in the middle. Looking up to the sky, Justice could see the rivulets of dark gray stretch across the sky as the sun began to recede. While there was still light out, she would use the outside access ladder. Tilting her head up, she scanned the side of the tall building. It may be twenty stories, but that sure as hell beat making her way to her dorm through the darkened halls. With her rifle set to the vacuous warp mode, it meant the shots were slower, meaning if she was swarmed suddenly with Larsa strapped to her chest and her without her suit--she would be fucked. Taking a deep breath, Justice partially stood, feeling the blood rush in her head and the fatigue of her body threaten the normal grace of her movements. She had never gone this long without sleep before. Even with the enhancements to her body, she was still human-deep down, she did require sleep occasionally. But that occasion wasn't now.

She had to get back to her dorm. Everything she needed was in there, sitting in a big black case waiting for her--calling to her. A case she had not turned to in months, a case she had purposely locked--like an idiot. Ignoring the hair raising tingle on the back of her neck as someone or something watched her, Justice pressed forward towards her only chance at survival.


	3. Chapter 3

Crouched by the bushes, Justice eased forward, scanning the terrain around her. Over the large boulders that dotted the landscape between the colony's buildings, she surveyed nooks and crannies along the buildings and every shadowed spot. The sun was going down rapidly, and the wind was picking up speed. Where the serpent aliens feasted, storms always followed.

No one was quite sure how or why the xenomorphs affected the local weather of any planet they terrorized, but it was a known fact that with time even the very atmosphere would begin to cry out as a result of the beasts. Soon the sandy surface of this desert planet would be razed black. No plants, no water source, no living being would survive the killing legion forsaking this place. Narrowing her eyes within her helmet, she scanned the area once more. Moments before, she had removed Larsa from her harness and awkwardly cradled the baby as she changed her diaper without setting her on the ground. Chubby and round, Larsa looked up at her with the most condemning look of consternation Justice had ever seen. Justice would have laughed if this had been any other day; instead, she kissed the baby's pouting little lips and put her back into the harness. 

Seeing that her path to the dorm building was all clear, Justice moved. With inhuman speed, she crossed the distance and rushed to the metal ladder gripping the bars on either side. Without missing a beat, Justice seamlessly transitioned from her run to halfway running up the ladder's rungs. She was a quarter of a way up when Larsa finally had enough. 

Tiny fists began to beat at her chest, accompanying a loud breathy cry that rent through the still desert air with the same disrupting force of an explosion. 

"Oh Larsa, please," Justice moaned, wanting nothing more than to comfort the baby, but with one hand on the ladder's bar and one hand gripping the rifle, Justice had no choice but to endure it. 

Unused to being ignored, Larsa's cry grew louder, and Justice paused as she felt the tremor vibrate through her hands and boots. 

Jerking her head backward, Justice froze at the black figure hunkered down at the roof's line. Glistening even in the dusk's low light, she could see the glimmer of xenomorph's curled up lips as it bared a cold, deadly smile. 

Sensing it before it made a sound, Justice looked down through the space between her arm and body and cursed under her breath as another xenomorph crawled slowly around the building's corner. On all fours, she could see the bunched muscles in its large hindquarters, it was ready to leap at her. 

Larsa continued to cry, the sound acting as a beacon on the silent, newly dead planet. She was tired of being in a harness, she wanted attention, she wanted to be cuddled and cooed at as she ate. She wanted a nap in her bed. She was tired of hanging off her mother's chest being ignored and draped in alien carcass parts, and now she wanted to be heard.

"Oh, sweetheart," Justice said in a low measured tone as she kept her gaze bouncing from the alien below her and the alien above her. "I truly understand. I'm quite tired of this shit too."

Possibilities filled Justice's brain as the seconds slowed. The sounds of Larsa's crying muted in her head, and she focused only on the twin pair of seething breathing above and below them. She warred with herself with the decision on what to do. Shooting the one above would cause it to fall. But she had to account for its barbed tail. If there were any last vestiges of life in the creature, it could easily kill them as it fell. Just the thought of that long, black sawtoothed tail striking out at her and puncturing Larsa made Justice's thoughts stutter, and her heart tighten in sheer agony. No, Justice pushed the thought away immediately. She couldn’t even consider thinking it. If she shot it, she had to time the slower warp shot perfectly and aim to kill while moving to the side just in time to avoid its bulky body slamming into her as it fell down. Shooting the one below, however, from this angle would prove even more difficult. In the alien's position, it had the advantage, not her. It could see where she was aiming and it without a doubt knew her limited movements hanging off the ladder, especially with its sibling advancing from above. 

More hissing noises filled the air, and Larsa lowered her crying to a dull, continuous protests as if even she heard the dire noises. Looking back up, Justice felt herself grow cold at the three other dark shapes that appeared at the roof's edge. Whatever decision she was going to make disintegrated at the sight, leaving her only one choice with very slim margins of survival. She had no choice. Putting her feet on the outside pole of the ladder, Justice loosened her grip on the ladder and began to slide down, aiming her rifle down to the alien that waited.

Her finger didn’t move on the trigger as she watched the xenomorph suddenly screech and flail before being yanked violently around the building's corner. Landing with a silent thud onto the sand, Justice did not hesitate. Switching her retinal interface, she took a mental snapshot of the scene as she took off running at full speed, leaving the xenomorphs to scramble down the building after her.

Ignoring her daughter's bouncing cries of protest, Justice pulled up the mental snapshot in one eye and examined it quickly before pulling up a holo-map. Searching the terrain, she veered sixty degrees. She knew what she needed to find. Somewhere not too far. Somewhere elevated, not close to a hive, somewhere that had plenty of room to maneuver in and out without notice. 

Sparing one last glance over her shoulder at the dorm building, she looked past the black shapes loping behind her to keep up and envisioned her black case inside her apartment holding everything she had been taught to think she was. Looking back down to the disgruntled infant staring up at her with wailing fury, demanding answers, Justice gave the baby a wan little smile and increased her speed towards the last card Justice had in her deck to play. 

What living thing leaves no heat trail? What could be large or strong enough to drag an uninjured sentinel xenomorph by its tail? Or should she say, what in the hell was crazy enough to do it? Oh, she knew exactly what it was. No heat trail, strong, and ballsy--a yautja that's fucking what.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I apologize that I did not mention this sooner, but it would be helpful for you to have already read the Predator: Invisible Prince in order to fully enjoy this story.

Justice found it on her second try. A yautja's ship was always placed in a somewhat elevated location near the target area of combat, but with enough clearance for undisturbed takeoff and landing. After a few minutes of highly accelerated running, she put distance between herself and the xenomorphs, but that wouldn’t buy her long. They could be hanging back to regroup only to flank her later or holding off in their pursuit to give her a sense of false safety, making her take down a surprise. By every moon in the galaxy, she really hated fucking xenomorphs.

Using the planet's map, Justice went from one small clearing near the northwest part of the map before leaving the area in a cloud of muttered oaths and running to the next location she thought viable. Sandy wind pelted at her shitty mask, and she tightened the carapace around Larsa's body, trying to block out the growing storm winds from touching the baby's soft skin. Within a few minutes, she arrived at the next plausible location she marked on her map and stopped. Sweeping her gaze around the area, she inspected the umber rocks and the coarse, resilient plants that covered the arid terrain. Broken arms of the large phreatophyte plants signaled the presence of her target. Walking forward with one hand outstretched and her rifle up in her other, she took cautious steps toward the seemingly empty clearing in front of her. At first, there was nothing. Just sandblasting wind hitting the palm of her hand. But as her steps took her closer, the nanites in her veins began to hum in recognition. Stopping with her hand only an inch away, Justice stared at the artful nothingness in front of her--the ship was here.

Not risking touching it, she stepped back and toed a rock out of the sandy earth. Flipping it out of the ground with the toe of her boot, she lined up the shot and kicked it. With a clink of stone hitting metal, Justice watched with relieved satisfaction as the stone fell back to the ground undamaged.

Larsa tensed and shifted against her before letting out another demanding cry for appeasement.

"Shh," Justice whispered as she looked down at Larsa's angry face.

With her hands balled into tiny plump fists, Larsa held up her arms in stiff protest as she let out a deafening cry. Reaching in between the makeshift shield, Justice rubbed the back of the infant's head in a soothing gesture while she looked back up at the ship. Going back up to it, she gave it one last testing bump with the side of her rifle and exhaled as no shield met her with resistance. She had minutes if that, Justice surmised, letting her hand trail along the surface of the cloaked ship as she walked around it. Like bloodhounds, the xenomorphs would hear Larsa's fed up cries, and they would track her to this spot soon.

Finding a groove in the ship that was deeper than the rest of the ones that lined the alien ship, Justice traced its edge and nearly grinned at the massive rectangular shape. It had to be a door. But finding a door and opening a door were two separate things, she frowned. It was bio locked, it had to be. The yautja were not the kind to risk having their ships found or stolen. It would take their DNA to access and pilot the ship.

A skittering in the distance stilled her. She was out of time. Rage and fear churned in her gut as the thermal readings in her retinal interface displayed the pulsing red and orange figures circling her a few yards out. She should have chased down the yautja and cut off its fucking hand or something when she had the chance! With steady breaths that belied the inner turmoil inside of her, she raised her rifle and hugged Larsa tighter to her chest.

Switching the rifle to rapid pulse, Justice prepared herself as the skittering noises of the aliens drew close. They were toying with her, seeing who among them would strike first. Well, they could try, she thought savagely, and Justice could feel her eyes glow in the darkness of her mask as her body prepared for combat. She was going to take every fucking one of them down before they got to her.

About twenty yards away, a bright blue light streaked across the air and exploded in a shower of sparks. Squinting, Justice pressed her back against the cool metal of the camouflaged ship and watched and listened. Xenomorphs screeched in the darkness of the surrounding desert as pulse after pulse streaked through the air like bolts of blue-white fire before landing with a crack of sizzling plasma. With the last shot, Justice could see the heat signatures of the aliens' retreat, but her focus was on the void of heat that the shots originated from. Silent besides Larsa's fussing noises that had grown tired and hoarse by now, Justice listened for any approaching steps, but she heard nothing.

Instinctually, she knew the hunter was close, standing and waiting for her next move. So, she took it.

"Please," she said. The foreign word tasted like acid in her throat.

When was the last time she had said that word? She honestly could not think of a time, maybe never. But now, she had no choice. She was far too tired to fight a yautja, and she had more than just her life to think of.

Ripping away the carapace shield, Justice stared at the spot in the dirt where she assumed the hunter stood.

"I will not let her die by those monsters," she declared. "Help us…please."

There was no response, and Justice felt all the exhausted anger she had been keeping at bay for days surge to the forefront.

Ripping off her helmet, she threw it to the ground with a wild, strangled growl while letting her rifle fall by its strap to dangle on her shoulder. Snatching off the smooth black alien carapace, she grabbed Larsa with both hands and hauled the upset baby forward off her chest. "Goddammit, aren't you supposed to have honor?!" She yelled into the night. "What kind of honor could you have if you leave a child here to die?!" Tears stung at her eyes, and Justice blinked in alarm. There had only been a handful of times she cried in her life, and each one of them was carved into her brain, never allowing her to forget one detail of the cause. The last time she cried was five months ago when she had given birth to Larsa.

Pulling the harness completely from her, Justice ignored the wet streaks on her face and stared stubbornly at the empty spot where she assumed the hunter was standing and held out the squirming, crying baby. "Please…at least take her," she begged, her voice thick with pain. "Take her and drop her off at the nearest human orphanage. Just save her at least," she said, telling herself to leave it at that and to staunch the venomous words quickly, wanting to follow after, but she couldn't. Lifting her head, Justice stared directly at the spot with a lethal fixation. "Because if you do, I promise I will get myself off this planet and find her--then I will find you," she whispered the promise, knowing the creature could see her violet eyes glow with every ounce of the conviction she felt. She wondered if it was taking in the fine lines of lambent circuitry orbiting her irises or the bright whites of her pupils that were calculating the speed and trajectory possibly needed to kill the yautja.

As the silence stretched between them and the fury within her began to change into something cold and little chaotic, the sound of pressure being released behind her interrupted her rising tension. Turning her head just enough to see over her shoulder, Justice could see the inviting orange glow of the ship's interior shining back at her. Pulling Larsa back to her chest, Justice turned and critically eyed the spot with the invisible creature searching for answers, but received nothing. Did it mean for her to put Larsa inside? Or could she step in as well? Not bothering to wait around and see, Justice quickly backed up inside and watched as the door closed shut behind her.

For three beats, Justice did not move. Still holding Larsa with both hands, she stared at the door and opened her senses to the silence of the ship around her. Was this a trick? After another moment, she finally allowed herself to turn from the door and face the ship's interior.

It was a single occupant fighter class ship, Justice concluded as she carefully walked further in. Once inside the door of the ship, there was a hallway that led down into what looked to be a storage bay and the engine room below. Walking past that hallway, she kept straight into the main area of the ship. With all black interior, it took a second for her eyes to adjust to the low lighting. To her right, there was a large cockpit array lit up with low, warm orange light. Buttons and holographic images covered the large dash partially surrounding a big black chair that sat in its center. Examining the chair, Justice raised a brow, it must be a pretty big yautja.

Turning from the cockpit, she walked the narrowing path past walls lined with various weapons secured to the wall into a larger room to what on any other ship would be an operations deck or galley, this room was indeterminable. Made out of the never-ending grooved black metal like the rest of the ship, it only had a few points of that dim orange lighting to break up the darkness. Larsa made another tired sound of dissatisfaction, which echoed off the empty ship's walls. Hoisting Larsa up higher on her chest, Justice cuddled the fussing baby's cheeks.

"Ok, it's ok," Justice murmured against her soft cheek, placing small kisses. "We are inside now and away from those nasty bugs."

Justice's eyes scanned the walls of the room. Each pass of her eyes revealed the circuitry running along the interior of the black walls and the hidden recesses the wall was designed to hide. Stopping at a smooth glass-like square that blended smoothly into the wall, she reached out to it and smirked as her fingers ran across the glass surface, activating the red yautja lettering. Reading the words without issue, Justice pressed the command her body had been pining for, for days now. With a pressurized release similar to the ship's door, the far back wall moved, and a big black rectangle lowered down to the floor. A bed. A wonderful, wonderful bed.

Smiling, she sat Larsa on the soft black material and ran her hand across its surface. A leather bed? What kind of kink shit was this, she thought with a smile. Just imagining a serious yautja into fetish made her laugh. Dear God, she must be tired if this was where her mind was going. Pulling Larsa out of the harness, the fussing baby quieted for a moment, seemingly letting the incredible feeling of her body without the harness she had been strapped into for days now sink in. Rolling her own shoulders, Justice laid Larsa on the bed and slipped the backpack off her shoulders, and lowered it to the floor. Taking the rifle back in hand, she turned and scanned the ship again while letting Larsa lay in the middle of the bed.

Shapes highlighted in yellow pinged along her retinal scan as she walked around the ship, and Justice could see that most of the walls contained various panels and hidden compartments. Moving towards a small opening in the wall not too far from the bed, she found a small room that contained a narrow galley and another door. Waving her palm over the sensor to the right of the door, she blinked in surprise as the door opened, revealing a fairly decent size bathroom. More than grateful not to have to squat onto the ground like she had done since the xenomorph invasion, Justice quickly took the opportunity to use the tall toilet. Going back to check on Larsa, who was fast asleep, Justice made her way back to the bridge. Shifting the rifle in her grip, she leaned over the cockpit's chair and stared at the control panel. Justice frowned at the board; it was a haptic control system. Not only bio-locked as she speculated earlier, but flown using both hands simultaneously on the two touchpads on either side of the chair. She had only flown with this type of control system once, and it was a rough flight, to say the least.

At the sudden sound of the pressurized release of the opening door, years of training took over Justice's senses like a knee-jerk reaction, and she swung around, her knees bent and her gun up and aimed at the door. A colossal figure stood outlined by the door holding something in its hand. Lowering her gun just a fraction from center mass, Justice cautiously stepped back and backed up the steps that separated the bridge and the large common area where Larsa slept, allowing the creature to step forward. Stopping near the bed, Justice positioned herself somewhat in front of the sleeping infant and let the gun point lower towards the floor. The last thing she needed was to piss off the yautja, not while Larsa was lying out so vulnerable, at least. Still concealed by the shadows of the bridge, the creature dropped the large sack onto the floor beside it and stood quietly. Justice could feel its gaze on her and narrowed her own gaze back at the shadowed figure. Even standing three steps down and four yards away, the yautja was fucking massive. Justice herself was very tall compared to the average human, especially a female human, standing over six feet and eight inches. But this thing had to be nearing eight feet. A little alarmed, she let a few scenarios run in the back of her mind on how to take down the big fuck without using her antimatter gun on the ship.

After a long few seconds, Justice finally let her rifle rest completely and stood straight, her movements tight and cautious. "I guess I should be thanking you," she murmured, looking away from the towering shadow and back down to the sleeping baby to her right.

That was about as much gratitude that was going to get past her lips, she thought sourly. Looking back at the quiet yautja covered in the shadows of the dark ship, she recalled her practically begging the alien before. Her pride could only withstand so much in one day, a thank you on top of a please was asking for too much.

Clearing her throat, she continued. "So, what's the next move?"

She could see its big head cock to the side at her words, and she listened to the low, almost purr-like clicking the hunter made. An odd sound that originated from their chest and not their mandibles like others presumed.

Not used to having to explain things, she called on her patience and tried not to glare at the creature through the darkness. "Are we leaving this planet?"

"Yes," the deep words hit the quiet air like a pile of falling boulders. It was male, Justice was now a hundred percent positive of that fact. There was an undercurrent of thunder in his tone that only a male yautja could produce.

A little unnerved by the depth of the voice along with its enormous size, she stared skeptically at the shadowed figure. "Then what do you plan on doing with us?"

Again another infernal tilt of its head, and it made her want to snap at him. Seeking patience, yet again, she forced herself to take a calming breath. "I know you understand me perfectly, hunter," she began in a near hiss, her patience was dwindling. "Look, be honest with me. Do you plan to harm my child or me?" she waved a hand towards her plump baby lying in the creature's bed.

"No," his naturally harsh voice rippled through the air.

Needing more clarification, she continued. "Do you plan to use me in one of your human hunting games for your younger hunters? What do you call them, unblooded?" she asked, trying to pull up all her limited info on the hunter species.

"No," he answered again.

Still unconvinced, she let the rifle hang by the strap at her front with only one hand at the pommel while her other hand began ticking off the possibilities one by one. "Test on me? Take my daughter? Torture her or me?" It felt as if she was going through a very carefully worded contract between her and the devil.

"You nor the infant will come to harm," he said succinctly, and Justice couldn’t help marvel at the yautja's own patience with her.

She was hoping the barrage of questions would spark a true aspect of his personality, some sort of temper or rage she rather find out about now on the ground rather than in space. With the antimatter rifle, she could not risk shooting the yautja while onboard the ship, one stray cluster of the sparkling black antimatter, and it could affect the integrity of the ship, but there were other ways to take the hunter down. She much rather know right now who exactly she was dealing with.

Nodding, Justice hesitated, tapping her finger against the side of her gun in thought before coming to a decision.  
Looking beyond the figure, Justice stared longingly without meaning to out the window towards the one rectangular building amongst the colony in the far distance. Ok then, this was happening. Not for the first time, she was being forced to step away from the one thing she simultaneously loathed and craved. Who would she be now without her suit? Forcing herself to focus back on the here and now, she took one step closer to the yautja and lifted her chin, acknowledging the veiled creature.

"My name is Justice, and thank you," she said, meaning it.

Without so much as a sound, the colossal figure stepped forward, one clawed foot stepping into the light, and Justice made herself not step back and raise her gun on instinct. Another step brought him closer, and Justice's eyes widened as the giant yautja stepped into the light. Towering above her, the creature looked down at her, his face free from his kind's usual mask, allowing her to stare directly into its piercing beady eyes.

"I am Jarak."


	5. Chapter 5

All her words seem to vanish in the hunter's presence. With pale hide like bleached sand, his tough reptilian skin was dappled in blotchy red markings that reminded Justice of a particularly poisonous Viperidae. Never in her life had she seen a yautja this big. Up and up, her eyes seemed to never stop as they traveled over his foreboding form. It was as if someone took one of the great underwater reptiles and stretched its touch hide over an eight-foot frame of steel and then covered it with body netting and armor and then adorned it with a big necklace of bone and various small skulls. Long, deadly black claws tipped each toe, and each finger punctuating the creature's monstrous difference. Its black spines, the dreadlock like appendages hanging from its massive sloping head, were long, reaching just under its armpit and tipped in the same dark red coloring that smattered across its thighs and abs. Its sloping forehead, a characteristic of all known yautja, was crowned in a sharp, pointed red frill that lined the edge of its head just above the hair-like spines giving the yautja an almost regal quality with its natural crown-like feature. Mandibles flared as its orange and red eyes set in deep within the shadow of its browbone gleamed at her.

Forcing herself to focus, Justice averted her gaze and looked back to the glowing console lights before back to Jarak. "So…where are we going to-"

Her words were cut off at the skittering sound across the ship's hull. Without speaking, they both reacted, whirling around on their heels: her towards her child and Jarak towards the controls.

Picking up Larsa's plump weight, Justice settled her against her chest while Jarak leaned past his chair and clicked his claws against a few buttons. The red letters of his native language showered above the large viewing window and disappeared just as the ship's engines hummed to life beneath her feet.

"Sit," he commanded without looking over his shoulder.

Looking around the empty room, she glared back at him with annoyance. "And just where am I supposed to sit? You don't have-"

Another bang, louder and harder this time, hit against the port side of the ship, and Justice could feel the ship jostle at the impact.

Whipping his head around, causing his long red-tipped dreads to arc around his shoulders, he pointed one menacing clawed finger at the bed with an angry jab. "Sit," he commanded again.

Justice bristled all over at the hunter's gall, but she moved toward the bed regardless just as the ship began to rise. Sitting down, she was about to loudly mutter her concerns on how the fuck she was supposed to securely strap onto a stupid bed when she felt the gentle pulse of stabilizing energy surround her. Well, that made sense, she thought wryly as she carefully got fully onto the bed, letting only her feet dangle off the edge. Despite the sharp ascent of the ship, she and Larsa sat comfortably level on the bed as it took off into the sky. Breaking through the planet's last layer of atmosphere, the ship gave a sharp tug as it hit space before settling into a placid float.

Turning from the console, the hunter eyed her silently. Realizing she was still on his bed, she pushed herself to scoot off the edge and stand. Her vision flickered and spun around her, and she could feel her legs threaten to give out. Without making a sound, she could feel the large hunter cross the bridge to her side, but she held up a hand halting him as she found her balance at the last moment.

Swallowing, she blinked and breathed through her nose. "I'm fine," she whispered brusquely, hating herself for this pathetic display of weakness. "Just haven't slept, that's all," she explained.

Stepping back with a slight jangle to his skull necklace, the hunter observed her in considering silence. He could probably stare at her all day, deep in whatever thoughts he was thinking, she realized with a soft smirk. Yautja were so fascinatingly simple yet complex in surprising ways. He was probably trying to determine exactly what she was and how he would go about killing something with a diaminium skeleton. Looking down at Larsa, Justice grinned at the sleeping baby. The kid was so happy to be out of the combat zone and in a nice quiet space she wasn't even demanding to be fed like she normally would be at this time, she just wanted sleep--and by the sun and moon, Justice could not blame her.

"I saw that you had a shower," she paused, feeling a little self-conscious, "May I?"

With a jerking nod, Jarak turned from her and grabbed his sack he dropped by the entrance before disappearing around a corner.

In the bathroom, Justice awkwardly shifted the grumpy baby from one arm to the other as she peeled off both of their dirty clothes.

Laying Larsa on the pile of clothes, she stared down at the frowning brown eyes of the infant and smiled. "Well, at least momma brought a bunch of your clothes and things with her to work every day, right?" she said in a light voice to the girl.

"That means you have a nice fresh onesie to change in while momma has the same old stinky clothes to put on," Justice announced in a sing-song voice as she turned on the shower and lowered the scalding temperature to lukewarm.

Picking up the naked baby, she cradled her carefully in her arms and ignored her cries of protest at the spray of water. With one hand, Justice pulled the baby soap bottle out of her bag and began soaping the both of them down.

"I know, I know," she soothed as Larsa's cries intensified. "You just want to sleep and be a dirty girl, but you stink, and I stink, so just let me do this, and you can go right back to sleep."

Larsa ignored her and continued to cry until the spray was turned off. Holding the slippery naked baby with one arm, Justice somehow managed to get dressed with the other hand shuddering at the feel of her grimy clothes against her clean skin before carrying the bag and Larsa back out into the common area.

Taking a peek at Jarak, who stood near his wall of weapons, she paused and stared as he shoved something that looked awfully like a xenomorph skull back into the black bag. There was something different about this hunter than the handful of hunters she had come across in her past. Wearing the full-body netting underneath his armor, Jarak seemed rougher around the edges than the other yautja. His armor was a dark matte gray covered in various gouges and scars. Braided leather straps that wrapped across his wide chest holding the pauldron shoulder-piece in place was probably once a beautiful display of fine craftmanship was now frayed and torn. The skirted belt at his waist was made out of the same dull gray metal, and a strip of thick leather hide that hung in front of his thighs lined in stained fur and decorated with various skulls and metal beads. Even the netting covering his big frame was torn in a few places here and there. It looked as if his armor had been used in a great war--years ago. There was something very old world about this hunter.

Going towards the bed, Justice laid Larsa onto it and watched with a smirk as her naked body immediately reacted to the soft comfort. Calming her cries into a dull prideful whimper, the baby kicked out at the air and turned her head, and spotted Jarak. Immediately her hollow cries were forgotten as Larsa stared at the unfamiliar creature. Glancing up, Justice nearly laughed at Jarak's silent stare back at the naked baby. Even without much facial expression, she could tell he found the baby perplexing.

"Jarak, meet Larsa," she muttered as she grabbed the Diaper Wizard from her bag.

The white and green box cost a fortune, but it was worth every single penny. Taking the soiled diaper out of her bag, Justice could feel Jarak's eyes on her as she stuffed the stinky diaper into the box. Pressing a button, they both listened and waited as the box whirred and worked its magic. With a soft ding, the unit shined a green light, and Justice opened the box and reproduced the now perfectly clean diaper.

Sensing the question in the hunter, she answered it as she put the clean diaper back onto Larsa's naked bottom.

"It burns away all waste leaving the diaper clean and safe to use," she explained. "If I believed in a god, I would say God specifically created this for mothers. You have no idea how much single-use diapers are, only for my cute, smiling ball of fat to shit in them."

Clean, changed, and wearing a fresh onesie, Larsa lay sprawled out on the black bed like she owned it. Standing up straight, Justice fought off the wave of dizziness and met Jarak's eye.

"Just tell me why?" she asked, "Why save us from the alien at the dorms building? Why let me onto your ship?"

For a moment, he simply stared at her, his small black pupils ringed in a sunrise of orange, never wavering. Eventually, he spoke, "Curiosity."

Justice let out a small tired laugh under her breath as she nodded and looked over his shoulder to the glittering black space beyond. "Of course," she mumbled, "And where exactly are you taking me?"

"Ojibwe," he answered simply as if the place was common knowledge.

Feeling her energy drain by the second, she sat back down on the edge of the bed. "I'll assume that is your homeworld," she stated dryly. "And…if I don't want to go there," she let the statement hang in the air like a question as she tiredly stared up at the massive hunter.

Sweeping one hand stiffly at his side, he gestured to the space around them. "You have little choice," his deep, animalistic voice had a challenging finality to it that that sparked her ire.

Shoving her fatigue to the side, just as she had done for nearly the past week, she stood up to her full height and stepped up directly to the hunter. Justice caught the flash of excitement in the yautja's eyes and mentally cursed their moronic species for their love of a challenge. Any other time she would find the trait amusing if not interesting, but right now, she was too tired and had bigger things to worry about.

Knowing that he would never relent, Justice let her thoughts stray to the worries and guilt that she had been running from for nearly two years now. Like a hairline crack in a vault, the truth slipped from her lips and past her fatigued senses. "I am going to be real honest with you, big guy," she said, anger and exhaustion lowered her voice to a menacing whisper. "I have been running for a long time now, and I promise you don't want to be anywhere near me when my demons finally catch up with me."

Luke's face flashed without consent through her mind, and Justice tore her eyes away from Jarak's, forcing herself to think of something else.

"There is nothing I fear," Jarak replied, crossing his thick arms over his massive chest.

Justice smirked as she looked up at the big creature. That was probably true, she thought, but then again, he had never met her before. "We shall see."


	6. Chapter 6

Jarak's claws clicked quietly against the control console as he set the ship's coordinates back to Ojibwe. Pulling up the radar, he set the constant sweep to a much wider circumference. If anyone or anything came near the ship, he would be alerted. It was a setting he had never activated before, but with the woman and child on board his ship, Jarak would make the exception. 

Turning away from the controls, he stood up and paused. Looking across the short bridge into the ship's deck, he watched the two females sleep soundly. Laying on her back, the fat human baby slept with both arms up and her fists balled on either side of her head. Watching her stomach move up and down as she breathed, Jarak could tell that the child was sleeping deeply--just like her mother. Silently, Jarak took another step forward, clicking the datapad on his gauntlet and lowering the ship's lights until it was nearly pitch black. Jarak watched as the woman's brow relaxed from its frown and her breathing deepen. Using her extended arm as a cushion, the woman held onto the rifle's strap at the far end of the bed while her other hand lay protectively on the child's chest. 

Out of curiosity, Jarak reached for his mask attached to his belt and lifted it to his face. Peering through the mask's eyeholes, he confirmed what he witnessed earlier on the planet. Unlike a normal human, this woman shined bright like a white star under his thermal readouts. Glancing at the child, he scanned her and found her readouts pulse normally with reds and yellows. She was unlike her mother.

Having received an alert of a new outbreak of xenomorphs, Jarak had gone to that planet to hunt down a juvenile xenomorph queen, he was not expecting to find a known open file. He had been climbing the domed outside of the air filtration building when he looked down to see the bright star pass him. Changing the display in his mask, Jarak watched the woman move with tactical grace and precision across the colony. Changing course, he followed her taking in every detail of her until he could finally remember why the heavily modified human intrigued him so, there was an incomplete file sitting in Ojibwe's records about this type of woman. Twenty women, to be exact, all modified down to their bones and ligaments, all highly skilled in combat. Pulling up the record as he followed her to the rectangular dormitory building Jarak had read the mostly empty file and stopped at the instructions at the bottom: apprehend at all cost.

Reading the file's limited data as he pursued her, Jarak could see her shoulders stiffen and realized with satisfaction the reports were true about her. Looking over her shoulder, bright purple inhuman eyes shined as she scanned her surroundings. She knew she was being watched. Forgetting completely about his initial mission, Jarak followed the woman with growing interest. Getting closer to her, Jarak had blinked in surprise as he realized there was something beneath the alien carapace she kept strapped to her chest. Moments later, the child's cries not only confirmed his assumption, but the child eventually gave him the opportunity he needed to redirect the woman back to him. For nearly forty-eight hours, he had followed her and watched. He watched her hide and scan the terrain as she slowly made her way towards a particular building. Biding his time, he waited until she made her move. 

Coming up behind her just as she accessed the building's ladder, he paused at the chittering sounds echoing in the darkness. Long black cylindrical heads appeared over the roof's edge, and the woman paused. With slow turns of their heads, the xenomorphs communicated in silent hisses with one another as the woman accessed her worsening odds from above and below. Letting the xenomorph pass him in the darkness, Jarak looked up at the woman's expression. For a brief second, he could see the maternal fear in her eyes shine past the purple and white circuitry in her eyes before cold resolve engulfed it. She would make it out of this situation, he thought, but he saw no reason to risk her nor the screaming child's safety. Taking one step forward, Jarak grabbed the barbed black tail of the alien and yanked it back until it was pulled off its feet and forced to follow its attacker's motion as he swung it around. Hitting the other side of the wall with a shrieking screech, the xenomorph flailed and scrambled its limbs to find purchase on the ground so it could attack, but Jarak activated his cannon blaster. As he shot the remaining xenomorphs, he watched as the woman abandoned her mission of getting in the infested building and run off into the desert.

Now, here she was lying in his bed, a feature he never once used on his ship, sleeping deeply. Looking between the woman and the child, Jarak lowered his mask and reattached it back to his belt. There were few similarities between the two females. The child's soft skin was a lighter shade of brown than her mother's, whose skin was dark, signifying her people, wherever she was from, lived close to their planet's equator. Her hair, unlike the child's short wispy curls, was braided into many long rope-like braids that were secured into a ball at the top of her head. Looking at the sleeping child, Jarak remembered her brown eyes staring up at him as her mother cleaned and changed her. Were the woman's eyes once brown, or were they a trait from the father? Looking back at the woman, he examined the muscles in her arms as she slept and recalled her height. What kind of human man did this woman find suitable enough to mate? Where was this mate? Who were these "demons" she referred to chasing her? From the little information they had on file for her kind, was she not more than capable of dealing with the issue rather than running? Frustrated at his lack of answers and the surge of new questions at every turn, Jarak turned on his heel with an annoyed growl buried in his chest. He would never understand humans.

Going back to the cockpit, he sat down in his chair and looked back to the sleeping woman, he was not sure what to do with her. The scientists that worked deep in the bowels of Ojibwe, separated from the rest of their society, would want her and the child for themselves; he knew that for certain. Finally, obtaining a live subject to the mystery file that had remained empty for years would be something they would not pass up on. Their research would be akin to torture. Looking to the child, whose small foot shifted and kicked softly into the air, Jarak could feel the repressed growl in his chest deepen. There was no honor among the scientist, a sentiment all yautja hunters shared. Jarak would not let them have her or the tall woman, he decided. He had given his word that no harm would come to them, and besides, he thought with the tilt of his head, thinking of the woman's proud and determined expression as she had stared back at him without fear, he found himself intrigued by her. He wanted to know more about her. He wanted to see these combat skills rumored in the lacking report. He wanted to fight her.

~~

He was cleaning the alien queen's head when he heard the keening noise. Looking up, Jarak listened as the discontented cries grew louder. Grabbing the decapitated head, he placed it back into the specially lined sack. The traces of xenomorph blood still left inside the skull would not eat through the sack and onto the ship. Cleaning his hands, he stepped away from the small work area of his ship and around the corner to the common area. 

Awake and squirming, the human infant cried, looking at her mother's face above her in angry desperation. Tiny fat fists pummeled the air as her body jerked in her rage. Calmly, Jarak stared at the child's reddening face and back to the sleeping woman--she did not stir. Lifting his gauntlet, he typed into the datapad and stared at the holographic data that pulled up in response. Reading the list, Jarak dropped his arm and stared back at the child who had turned herself over onto her stomach. By now, her whole body was tense with anger, and her cries had become ceaseless in their anguish. With little choice, Jarak stepped forward. Reaching over the woman, Jarak carefully removed the black gun strap from the woman's hand. Considering for a moment, he reached down and grabbed one of the woman's shoulders and watched as the muscles in her sleeping face moved in awareness, but she did not open her eyes. Pulling her forward until he had her sitting up, Jarak sat behind the woman on the bed and let her rest against his chest. The necklace of skulls around his neck jangled as he settled her limp body into the crook of his arm. Looking down at her, Jarak watched as her subconscious tried to fight through her exhaustion. Her eyelids fluttered but never quite opened while the smooth space of skin between her brows furrowed. 

His claws found the tiny metal tab under her chin. Pulling it, he listened and watched as the teeth of the zipper unhooked from each other as he dragged it down to her stomach. Hot, smooth skin revealed itself under the separated material of her top, and Jarak let himself examine the slow movements of her abdominal muscles flex with each breath. Moving his gaze upward, he focused on his targets and reached for the black material covering them. The woman made a noise in her throat, but it was hardly heard over the child's cries. Pulling the cups of fabric that covered her breasts up, he watched from above as her naked, full breasts bounced free. Turning his head, he looked to the child and carefully slid his hand underneath her. Jarak could feel his pulse quicken as the soft baby body slid past his sharp claws inch by inch. The child was much too small and very fragile. How did humans survive this stage? 

With her soft stomach in the palm of his hand, he carefully lifted the crying child and brought her around to his and the woman's front. As if driven by a surge of maternal instinct, the woman's eyes shot open as he transferred the screaming child onto her back and into his other hand.

The white rings he noticed in the woman's eyes earlier were now shining bright, nearly drowning out the purple of her eyes. Staring closely as his hands continued to position the child, Jarak could see the fine filaments within glisten around the white rings.

"What are you…" There was a resonating quality to her tone but was cut off just as Jarak positioned the baby closer to her dark nipple.

Latching on greedily, the child stared up at them both with angry betrayal as she drank from her mother.

Jarak could feel the sudden understanding relax the woman against him, her stiff frame laying more pliably against him. 

Inhaling, Jarak mentally cataloged the warm scents coming from the woman. Intertwining together, there were two scents that mingled in the air at every rise and fall of her chest. Floral and manmade, the scent of her soap still lingered on her skin, but there was another that piqued at the back of his mind. There was one other scent that he could almost place. Frowning, Jarak looked down past the smooth skin of her exposed collarbone and let his eyes travel slowly over the slopes of her full breasts until his eyes settled on the pair of brown eyes staring at him. Suckling noisily, the infant pushed her fists into the fatty globes of her mother's breast, kneading more of the life giving sustenance out. White, milky residue gathered at the corners of the child's mouth, unknowingly filling the air with more of the scent. Inhaling again, Jarak suppressed the guttural sound forming in his chest. It was milk. The woman smelled of sweetened milk.

Looking at where she rest against his shoulder, he watched the woman's profile as she stared tiredly down at her child. The slight purple glow of her inhuman eyes were framed in curling black lashes, a feminine feature shrouding something more deadly beneath, a concept that Jarak noticed was carried throughout this woman. From her reinforced skeletal system to the hum of nanites, his mask had picked up running through her veins; this woman was a contradiction to all of his senses. The relaxed weight leaning against him would no doubt react with precise and enhanced speed at any threatening action. Everything about her could change in a matter of seconds, she could answer his lingering questions all at once with just the right provocation. The thought, Jarak realized, was not as tempting as it should be. Soft and inviting, the woman stared down at her child with a gentle devotion only a mother could possess instead of the hard lines of calculating skepticism she had stared at him with earlier. He would not provoke the woman into a fight, not yet. 

Shifting uncomfortably, the woman turned tiredly against his chest, trying to look over her shoulder. "What's poking me?" 

Pulling his gaze away from the child's never-ending stare and past the woman's waiting one, he looked down between them. Still holding the child with the arm he had wrapped around the woman, Jarak used his free hand and reached around his neck to pull off the trophy necklace as the woman let out a grateful sigh. 

In silence, they continued to sit like that, one leaning against the other as the child suckled at her breast. 

"How did you know what to do with Larsa?" she eventually asked her voice heavy with exhaustion.

Looking down at her, Jarak watched her body sink deeper against him, her muscles relaxing until she was pliable and soft against his chest.

"I do not," his tone was measured and deep as he answered. "I looked up the common reasons for a human child's squalling."

She gave a soft laugh. 

After a while, the woman finally shifted and lifted the child from her breast and placed the fat child against her shoulder, and began to rub her back. Jarak stared down at the child's face, which was now inches from his chest, and watched as she angled her tiny head until she could resume her silent staring at him.

"You know what and who I am, don't you?" the woman asked, not looking at him.

Jarak nodded. "Yes"

"And you're sure your planet is the best option?"

It was her only option as far as he was concerned. 

"Yes," he answered.

He could feel one of her shoulders lift in a shrug against him. "All right, big guy, I'll trust you. But if I find that you cannot keep your word and keep me and Larsa safe, everyone's resulting deaths are on you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry I am late. Merry Christmas.  
> btw i saw a comment that Jarak was a new character. He is not. He is from ch 16 of the invisible prince and the bonus epilogue of that story for email subscribers


	7. Chapter 7

Walking back and forth across the large common area, Justice let out a ragged groan as Larsa's cries intensified. Casting a worried glance over her shoulder towards the bridge, she looked to see Jarak calmly sitting in his seat, occasionally adjusting the ship as they approached the oncoming planet. He didn't seem bothered by the noise, but Justice was sure it was an act. For nearly an hour, the sound of Larsa's hungry cries echoed off the ship's walls. Even she was starting to become undone by the constant crying.

Hugging the baby closer, Justice put a bit more bounce in her pacing as she rubbed her cheek against hers. It was hot, and her screams rang in Justice's ear, but she endured it.

"I know, I know," she soothed, her heartbreaking as she walked from one end of the room and turned on her heel. "Once I get something to eat, then you will be able to eat too."

Her milk was coming out only in tiny amounts. The last time Justice ate was three days ago back on LV549. She had eaten her last energy bar that morning as she hid in the desert, preparing herself to run to the dorm building.

Waking up from her first night of sleep on the ship, she had asked the hunter if he had any food onboard and received a quiet no in response. Justice wasn't surprised by the answer, oddly enough, the ship was immaculately clean. It made her wonder if the ship was new or if the hunter was just OCD or something. Besides the weapons on the wall and his precious sack containing what she was sure was a xenomorph head, there was nothing else in the ship.

After a few more laps of bouncing steps, Larsa settled her head sleepily against Justice's chest as her cries dropped into a constant mewling noise that tore at Justice's soul worse.

"Jarak?" she called quietly, knowing the hunter's keen hearing would pick up her voice. 

Turning silently in his chair, he stared at her in answer. His orangish-red eyes that reminded her of solar flares were calm and patient. He really wasn't all that bothered by Larsa's crying, she realized. And for some reason, that made her think of last night, which was probably some of the best sleep she had ever had. Half naked, she had slept a good portion of the night in the yautja's arms. He had moved only once, early that morning, carefully shifting her so that she lay against the bed, allowing him to finally get up. And if she was really being honest with herself, she hated to see him go. For years she had slept with all of her senses open, with one hand on her gun and ready to react within a second, but last night for the first time, she entered a depth of sleep she had only ever read about, and it was glorious--and she hated herself for it. 

Unaccustomed to asking for help, Justice forced the words out, wincing at how awkward she sounded. "Is their fish on your planet?"

Jarak just blinked.

"I only eat fish, vegetables, and fruit," she explained, knowing that Yautja were primarily red meat eaters--raw meat at that. "I need to eat in order to produce milk so that she can eat. Does your planet have an edible fish I can eat?"

Thinking, Jarak nodded before turning around. His black claws clacked at the console, pulling up a large holographic viewer, overlaying the window. Stepping closer, Justice looked at the images and smiled. Sorted into two groups were seemingly all the known fish on his planet. 

"Ok," she breathed in relief. "That's good."

Exiting the screen, Jarak looked up to the encroaching planet, and she followed his gaze. It was beautiful. Covered in dark greens and deep blues and shrouded in a thin filmy white gaseous layers, the jungle planet floated proudly in the sea of glittering black space. Even their planets were foreboding, she thought with a smirk. How thick was their jungle if even from this distance, the planet shined like a dark emerald? How deep were their unexplored oceans? The scientist within her leaped at the excitement the new planet offered, but the bigger part of her, the soldier, stared at the planet with a cool appraisal. 

"Sit," Jarak commanded over his massive shoulder.

Holding the now quiet Larsa higher against her chest, Justice stiffened and gave the yautja a deadly smile. "I think because you have seen my tits, you are under the impression that you are entitled to give me orders, yautja. Let me inform you that you're highly mistaken," her whispered words came out through clenched teeth. "I promise you this, once I have eaten, rested, and taken care of Larsa, you and I are going to have to have a talk about this giving me orders habit you have going."

Jarak turned in his chair, and she watched as his sunburst eyes brightened in response. "I will look forward to it, until then--sit," he pointed a black claw towards the bed.

For the longest moment, they stared at one another in silent combat. She wanted to break that finger, but she couldn't, not with Larsa in her arms. She wanted to shoot him, but not while she and Larsa were aboard this ship. She wanted to punch that satisfied glimmer he was staring at her with right out of those tiny beady eyes, but she couldn't--not right now at least.

Holding back the rest of her snarky words, she spun on her heel and marched back to the bed and sat, not daring to look back at the giant bastard. 

~

It was dark out when the ship landed. With her backpack on and Larsa strapped back into her harness, Larsa grabbed her gun and stepped to Jarak on the bridge, who gave her a pointed stare.

Pushing some of her braids, which had fallen from her bun, out of her face, she gave the hunter a questioning look. "What?"

Jarak looked from her gun and back to her meaningfully.

"I truly hope you didn't expect me to leave my gun on this ship," she asked, one eyebrow lifting cynically. "I don't know this planet. For all, I know it's probably full of species evolved to match its primary occupants. Which endangers my child even more so. That’s-"

"Only endangering the child?" Jarak asked, and Justice resisted grabbing a handful of his spines and yanking them out of his big fat head. 

He was purposely trying to bait her into an argument. The giant lunk wanted to fight her, she could feel the need for it vibrating off of him. She was sure it was the sole reason he saved her and Larsa. His "curiosity" was just a polite way of saying, "I have yautja hard-on to fight you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I would manage on my own," she said evenly, "but with her," she pointed to the baby in the harness. "I will take no chances."

Without a reply, Jarak walked towards the hatch and hit a button on the wall activating the pressure-sealed door. Warm swampy air hit her immediately, and Justice nearly groaned. She forgot about that aspect. Hot, humid, jungle planets were paradise for these creatures. Stepping onto the smooth metal surface, Justice looked around in silent surprise at the hangar. Parked in a line of ships that spanned at least eight kilometers, cutting a large strip out of the thick jungle, they walked out onto the path that sat between the row of ships. There had to be over fifty ships, not including the empty spaces she could see that were obviously reserved for other ships.

Walking down the quiet path, Jarak suddenly stopped and looked towards the jungle. Turning to her, he gave her a firm look and pointed to the ground. "Wait here, do not move," he growled.

Justice was opening her mouth to tell him to fuck-right-the-hell-off when the hunter turned and moved so quickly she just ended up standing there with her mouth open. Fucking hell, he moved fast. Pulling up her retinal interface, she replayed the last scene of him. In one fluid move, Jarak had turned on his heel and took one lunging step forward, his powerful thigh muscles bunching at the contracting movement before launching himself forward into the air and into the jungle.

A rustle in the trees tore her attention from her replaying footage, and she brought her gun up and angled her chest away, making herself a slimmer target as possible. With a small thud, Jarak burst through the tree line and landed back onto the metal hangar, holding something in his hands. Dropping her gun, Justice scowled at the hunter until he got close, and she realized what he had done.

Holding out both hands, he held the small red globes of fruit towards her. "Humans can eat these," he informed her, offering her the fruits. 

Letting her gun hang by its strap, Justice carefully took the handfuls of fruit from his waiting hands. This was odd. She wasn't sure how to react or think at this. There was an inexplicable urge to scowl and smile at the same time. Nodding her thanks, she followed the hunter as she cradled the fruit in her arms. As her eyes passed over the array of ships, her mind focused on the hunter's odd actions trying to analyze them. He saved her because of what she was, she knew that. He wanted to bring his find back to his leader, no doubt. But he also wanted her to be appeased, she thought, remembering the way she woke up to find him holding Larsa to feed at her breast. She could not understand him. Wouldn't making her angry be the best way to incite a fight? Or did this yautja have so much honor he wanted her at her best when he did fight her? That was it, she nodded to herself, following the hunter down an ornate metal staircase, he wanted a good fight. That was why he was feeding her and appeasing her by looking after Larsa, he wanted her back in fighting shape. Shaking her head, she grinned at the thought of his reaction whenever she eventually got around to telling him the truth.

Looking over the curving stair's side, Justice stopped abruptly, letting the sight beyond her soak in. A few steps down, Jarak paused and turned back to her in silent question.

Down the large hill, the hangar sat on top of a city of mythical proportions lay before her. Justice could hardly move, she couldn't believe she was seeing this. Growing up and training with her sisters, they had been taught everything the company knew about the yautja, which was limited, to say the least: reptilian-like carnivores, honor system, blooded versus unblooded, male versus female hunters, advanced technology, different factions, some space-born and bound and some planet dwellers. But this in front of her was nowhere in their limited teachings about the yautja. Like something from old earth Egyptian history files, a great black pyramid stood in the center of the cleared jungle floor. In front of the entrance, made from the same black metal, the long narrow pathway was lined in shimmering, dark reflecting pools that moonlight shimmered off of. Excited to see more, Justice carefully and quickly took the stairs down to the bottom, standing between two great statues of hunters, each wearing their masks and both holding spears. 

Reaching out, she touched the metal greaves of the statue. "This is amazing," she whispered. 

Jarak stepped behind her with silent patience as she turned and stared out at the smaller pyramids in the distance. 

"How many of you live here?" she eventually asked, her voice sounding loud in the still night air. Certainly, all the rest of them weren't asleep right now?"

"Many," Jarak stated, walking ahead of her.

Justice stared at the back of his head. His spines swayed slightly against his broad back as he moved. He certainly wasn't verbose, she thought dryly. Getting information from the lumbering hunter was like pulling teeth. 

Looking around again, Justice tried to open her senses and broaden her retinal interface in an attempt to spot a cloaked hunter, but by gods of the galaxies, she was so fucking tired it was useless to even try. All she could do was follow Jarak as she stared in awe at her surroundings. 

Sounds of her footsteps echoed off the metal floor as she followed Jarak across the empty pyramid's grand gallery. In the center, just below the point, sat a square reflecting pool filled with dark, still water. At the four corners of the pool were more of the giant statues that had guarded the entrance of the palace, but instead of male statues, these were beautiful depictions of huntresses standing tall, their mandibles flared out, and their bladed gauntlets crossed over their breasts. If she wasn't so tired, she would stand and stare at the statues longer.

Reluctantly, Justice pulled herself away from the statues and followed Jarak down empty corridors until they were passing one with numerous doors. This part of the pyramid reminded her of her dormitory building back on LV594, and for a moment, the unbidden memory of her black case came to mind. Pushing the painful thought away, she stopped as Jarak paused outside of a door and waved his gauntlet in front of the discreet data-pad on the wall to the right of the door. Witch a silent swish, the metal door parted, and Jarak walked inside.

Why in the hell did she follow him here? Why did she allow him to take him to his planet? Looking into the shadowed room, he stepped into Justice, glanced down at the plum-like fruits in the crook of her arms, and down to Larsa's sleeping face squished up against her breasts. A few kind acts, and you'll just follow anyone anywhere, huh? You're doing it again, Justice, she mentally admonished herself. You're getting yourself wrapped up in a guy again when you have bigger shit to be worrying about. But then again, she looked up to see Jarak's eyes glow faintly in the darkness as he stepped back towards her in silent question, this wasn't technically a guy. At least with him, unlike with Luke, there was no question if he was a monster or not.

Stepping forward, she followed him inside.


	8. Chapter 8

"Is this…" she paused, looking around the narrow space in disbelief. "Is this your apartment?" 

Jarak looked from her and followed her line of sight around the cramped space, trying to see what she saw before nodding.

"Jarak, it's so tiny!" she blew out an exasperated breath as she sat the fruit on a narrow counter jutting from the wall in an area that looked to be a small kitchenette. Turning back around to the hunter, she gave him a confused look. "You're way too big for a tiny apartment like this. Is rent high here or something?"

Tilting his head in question, Jarak lifted his gauntlet and clacked the tips of his claws against the data-pad. Entranced, she watched him as he read the holographic information before closing it and lowering his arm.

"I do not pay rent," he answered firmly.

For a moment, Justice let the little scene playback in her head and remembered the backward lettering he pulled up from his gauntlet, with a slow spreading smile of realization, she fought back the urge to laugh. He had looked up the word rent. 

Pressing her lips together, she stifled her laughter to ask another question, but Jarak's eyes narrowed as he watched her closely, and he cut her off.

"Yautja do not use money. We gain what is needed ourselves. We bring honor to our clan, and if I am worthy, the clan leader will decide what to bestow to me."

Nodding, she walked toward the bed which dominated most of the back wall, save for the two doors on either side of it, the bed looked properly proportioned, at least. Although, she noted it was another black leather mattress. Pulling Larsa from the harness, Justice carefully put her on the bed. 

"So, does your leader not think you are worthy enough for a bigger room than this?" She asked, genuinely interested. Maybe this leader of Ojibwe was a real dick. She knew it was only a matter of time before she would need to meet the reigning yautja, and she wanted to know as much as she could about the hunter beforehand.

Turning in place, Jarak watched her as she sat cautiously at the end of his bed and shook his head once at her question. "Rakkah is a worthy leader. He has shown respect to my victories. He has offered me much, but I need little. I have taken a ship as one of my bounty payments, that is all I require."

Right now, she was positive she possessed more information about yautja than all the galaxies combined. Nodding once more, Justice glanced around the cramp quarters and reassessed. It was spartan, just like the hunter's ship. Besides the ridiculous amount of weapons lining the left wall, there was not one other piece of personality lying about like it was in her apartment back on LV594. Baby toys had been scattered across the living room floor. Dirty clothes, hers and Larsa's were sitting in a pile by the door ready to be taken to the laundry unit, and the single holo-photo of her and her sisters kept on a tiny piece of flimsy, all smiling and posing within their suits and guns, tucked under her pillow. All lost to her now.

Running her fingers softly across the bottom of Larsa's soft foot, she looked up to the hunter. Whatever he saw shining back in her eyes made the hunter stiffen suddenly. 

"Stay here, I will return," without waiting for a reply Jarak turned and left through the only door. 

Justice waited until the door shut once more before finally standing. Taking off her backpack and pulling the gun's strap over her head, she sighed just as her stomach let out a deep growl. Walking over to the kitchenette, she surveyed the simplicity of it: a counter, a sink, and a glass refrigerator nearly tall as she was holding a huge rack of raw marbled meat inside.

A meal of champions, she thought wryly. 

Washing off the fruit, Justice took a tentative bite and smirked at the tart flavor. Grabbing and washing three more, she began to walk the length of the apartment. Similar to his ship, the uneven black walls were covered in various striations and grooves, hiding a number of hidden compartments and interactive displays. Circling back around until she was at the bed, she stopped in front of one of the two doors. Pushing the data-panel, she was surprised at the spacious--of course, all black--bathroom beyond. 

Stepping into the bathroom, she was relieved to see that this one had a large blank space of wall next to the data-pad. Scrolling through the yautja lettering, she found the selection she wanted and tapped it. The portion of the wall next to her shimmered and rippled as if the metal had turned to water before blinking into a dark mirrored surface. Looking at herself in the floor to ceiling mirror, Justice sighed. Her clothes were filthy with dirt and grime, and her braids, which hung to her waist, faired no better. Picking one up, she was beginning to pick out some of the dirt trapped within the coiled braid when the door to the apartment swooshed open again. 

Stepping in holding two black leather sacks, Jarak walked towards the kitchenette counter.

"The other human women have provided you this," he waved a hand brusquely to the bags and stepped back. 

Justice looked up at him in surprise. "There are other humans on your planet?"

Well, there goes that theory of her being the first to have collected such rare yautja information, she thought sorely. 

"Yes, Rakkah's mate and Akur's," he replied as if she knew the mentioned hunters.

Too tired to delve into the subject, she began to reach for the sack as he turned back toward the door.

"Wait, you're leaving?"

Pausing, the towering hunter did not turn around as he answered. "Yes."

Justice felt a twinge of guilt as she looked around the tiny space. "I don't want to kick you out of your room--your very small room," she added with a smile as he turned to look at her directly. "To be honest. I kind of expected you to put me in some sort of holding cell."

His eyes glimmered in the shadow of his pronounced brow ridge, and his fanged mouth beneath his mandibles moved slightly. "We have no holding cell," he informed her seriously. "Yautja do not take prisoners."

"Right," she nodded, crossing her arms and leaning on the counter to her right. "Yeah, you just kill whoever you don't like or send the rest to your creepy science ones."

Jarak didn't argue that.

Not sure what else to say, Justice looked away. "Where are you going to sleep?"

"I do not currently require sleep," Jarak responded, his naturally aggressive tone at odds with the simple statement.

"But what if you did and you wanted to sleep? I have no problem sleeping on a couch…" she paused, looking around the empty place once more. The front of the apartment was suspiciously empty as if it were designed for seating, but she would bet her last credit that the hunter used the bit of open space to train in. "Ok, floor," she corrected.

"No," his deep tone was final.

"Fine," she said, throwing up her hands and turning back towards the bed to sit next to Larsa. "I'm not going to argue with you. If you want to go sleep in a tree or whatever, be my guest."

As if completely satisfied with that option, Jarak turned back around and began walking to the door.

"Wait, how do I contact you," she called out just as the door opened. "...if one of your brethren tries to come in here or something happens and I might need you," she explained. "I would like it to be said I at least attempted not to go with my natural inclination of shooting first."

Slowly, Jarak turned his head until one eye caught her gaze over his shoulder. "No one would dare come into my space."

Like all statements from the hunter, the words were simple, but the meaning was lethal. Letting her gaze drop past the red tips of his long dread-like spines, she observed the strong striation of muscles corded along his wide back, tapering down to his narrow waist. Justice remembered the way the hunter had slung the adult xenomorph by its tail with ridiculous ease as if it were the size of a cat, and she couldn't imagine too many people or even other yautja crossing Jarak and surviving. 

Opening his data-pad on his gauntlet once more, he turned around fully and stepped back towards her until he stood only a foot away. Holding out his hand, he gave her a waiting look. 

Justice cocked her head in a smile as she obediently laid her hand in his. "How did you know what my rings were for?"

With a gentleness that seemed wholly strange on the humongous crab faced alien, Jarak carefully turned her hand over until her palm pressed against his. Justice could feel the rough ridges of his tough skin press against hers and marvel at the heat that radiated through it. For something with no discernable heat signature, he sure was hot to the touch, she thought. Again that made her think of the amazing sleep she had against the creature the other night. 

Touching one of the two white and silver rings she wore on each hand, Jarak activated her personal computer.

"I am yautja," his voice growled out over her like a rumbling blanket made of storms and thunder. "There is little I do not know."

Watching him type on the holographic keyboard her ring projected, Justice gave him an evil grin that caught his attention. "But you didn't know what rent was."

Entering the data with a gruff growl, Jarak turned on his heel and left.

Inside the sacks, Jarak had brought her was proof enough that a human lived on the planet: two thermos-like containers filled with still warm food, bottles of shampoo and soap, a pillow, and even a few baby things.

Justice stared at a stuffed giraffe and turned it over in her hand in absent thought. Were the yautja purposely bringing human women with children back to their planet? And if so, why? It couldn't be torture, she thought as she looked at the hastily written note on a piece of flimsy that she found in the bag as well. Supposedly the woman, named Ember, was more than excited to meet her. Following the helpful instructions on the flimsy, she walked up to the wall near the kitchenette and activated the data-pad, and searched for what the note told her. With a push of a button, a drawer popped out of the wall to her right, and Justice smiled.

A basin that is what yautja called their washing units. Shaking her head in a smile, she thought it was fitting. A washing machine was much too verbose for the towering Jarak to say. Basin in his deep guttural voice was much more appropriate. 

Stripping off all of her clothes until she stood completely nude, Justice stuffed her clothes into the drawer-unit and activated the washing cycle. Walking back to the bed, she grabbed one of the sacks in one hand and scooped up Larsa in her other arm. Settling the grunting baby onto the pillow on the bathroom floor, Justice fiddled with the controls on the shower until a black wall raised from the floor. Stopping just above her knee, the half wall turned the bottom of the large black shower into a tub. Pressing a few more commands, Justice filled the tub with water before stepping in with a deep groan. Sitting down, Justice was surprised at the spaciousness of the tub. It was deep and perfectly long enough for her, which was rare indeed. 

Closing her eyes for a few precious seconds, she was about to let her head lie back against the wall when Larsa began to fuss. Adjusting so that breasts were pressed against the bathtub's wall and her arms were folded on the rim, Justice stared down at her daughter. 

Catching her mother's eye, Larsa opened her tiny toothless mouth and let out an agitated sound. Justice rummaged in the bag with one wet hand and pulled out the soft giraffe. Making little noises, she knew Larsa enjoyed, Justice danced the doll over the baby and played with her from the rim of the tub, letting the sight of the little girl's gummy smile soothe her.

"We're in a new place," she whispered as she kissed the giraffe's mouth against the side of Larsa's cheek. "We are surrounded by big scary-looking hunters, but it will be ok," she said, repeating the kiss on the other fat cheek. "Soon, mommy will meet their leader and hopefully talk him into letting us stay for a little bit."

Playing with her until she was content to quietly look around on her on, Justice grabbed the large sea-sponge that was tucked in the bag and dipped it in the water. Water dripped and splashed as she raised each leg to the surface of the deep tub and ran the soft sponge over her legs. Her mind drifted back to LV549 and the "woolly woolies" in the primigenius. The large docile tusked mammoths were most likely safe but no doubt scared and lonely. For a year now, she had been working with the beast, studying their glowing tusk and their behaviors. Over time she had become attached to them. Their liquid black eyes staring at her with eternal patience as she fed them their favorite leafy treats while she performed her never-ending scans. Even Larsa had learned to enjoy the large beast, engaging them in a battle of stares that made Justice's eyes feel dry just thinking about it. Now her mammoths were bound for an early death on the infested planet. Before she fled the lab, Justice had made sure to call all her mammoths in from the outside enclosure and back into the lab before sealing it off. Inside they would have access to their daily reserves of water and food, but the supplies would run out, and the poor, gentle beast would starve--if they were lucky. Justice could only pray that the xenomorphs wouldn't sense the beast through the reinforced walls of the lab and work their way inside.

Standing up in the now tepid water, Justice paused, looking around. There were no towels. Did yautja not dry themselves with towels? That made no sense. No one this advanced and this meticulous with their technology walks around soggy after each shower, she thought resolutely. As the water drained at her feet, she stood naked and braced one hand against the wall as she jabbed a finger at the control-screen in the shower, going through the options. Stopping at one foreign yautja word, Justice repeated it a few times in her head, searching for a translation. Gusting? After a second, her eyes widened in realization, and she smiled. Pressing the button, she stood back. Narrow vents opened up along the sides of the shower stall, and warm air began to blow through them.

Dry, she stepped out of the shower stall and scooped up Larsa and her things. Changing, cleaning, and getting Larsa ready for sleep, Justice walked naked across the room and found the "gusting" option for her now clean clothes. Letting it run its cycle, she walked back towards the bed and sank down on the mattress, letting the cool leather press against her naked skin. Rummaging through the second bag, Justice grinned at the folded sheet tucked at the bottom and flipped out, spreading it partially over Larsa. 

Positioning her gun to the right of her, Justice stifled a yawn as she took a big gulp of the soup from the thermos. Fatigue was catching up to her. She needed to be rested for tomorrow because if for some reason things went south, she would need more than enough energy to fight her way off yet another planet crawling with aliens.


	9. Chapter 9

Jarak could feel the stares of his fellow hunters on him as he walked down the palace's corridors. Curiosity rumbled through the hallways like a minor quake. Somehow word had gotten out that he had brought back a human. Three years ago, Ojibwe had an infertility problem, female births were low amongst the yautja forcing some to seek mates in humans. Finding a human and genetically modifying her, a yautja could propagate a halfling female child who would in turn mate with a full blooded yautja in her future, producing a full blooded yautja. When the plan for human mating had been announced Jarak had expressed his displeasure openly. Humans were weak and dishonorable creatures, he vowed he would never take part in their human-mating system no matter the cost. 

Fortunately, there was no need. 

A cure to the genetic disorder was eventually discovered after Rakkah had brought home his human mate. Yautja were now siring male and female yautja once more, making the human-mating endeavor no longer a sacrifice to be taken for the good of the clan, but an option if desired. But now as Jarak walked down to the lower levels towards the living quarters, he could feel the speculation of his brethren circulate amongst them, rumors of him taking a human mate.

These rumors did not sit well with him. He wanted to turn and challenge them all, to prove once again he was superior to all of them and that rutting was the farthest thing from his mind, but he did not. He knew nothing would come from the combat, the rumors would still persist until they saw the woman, he brought for themselves.

Stopping at his door, Jarak pressed his hand against the control screen activating the door. Sliding open with a swoosh, Jarak stared across the narrow room down the barrel of the gun pointing directly at him. Sitting cross legged and naked, Justice held the infant with one arm to her bare left breast while her right hand aimed the heavy rifle steadily at him. Jarak did not move as her bright cybernetic eyes stared back him. Giving him a subtle raise of her brow, acknowledging him, she lowered the gun. 

Jarak did not move. Rooted to the spot, he stood out in the hall staring through the open door at the woman on his bed. With her hair unbound from her many braids, her long black hair laid in wet waves around her naked form as she fed her child. Jarak could see hints of the dark hair at the juncture of her crossed legs and his mind pictured her human cunt hiding beneath. On the whole, her nude state was a disconcerting sight. 

Footsteps to his right sent a frisson of savage energy through him at once. Turning to face the intrusion, Jarak slapped his hand on the door's sensor, closing it shut with a heavy swoosh. Bright red eyes of a younger hunter, Bor, blinked in surprise at the sudden lethal energy coming from Jarak and stopped.

Not giving him time to react, Jarak grabbed the younger hunter's chest armor and pulled him close until he could feel the youngblood's breath against his skin and gave him a menacing growl. "Turn around and take another hall," he ordered before thrusting the hunter backward with a mighty shove.

Ignoring the younger hunter's angry roar in reply. Jarak turned back to his door and quickly stepped inside. Not looking at the woman, he stopped in the empty space of his room. He could see her dressing from the corner of his eye and he wondered at his sudden urge to look upon her again. Jarak ignored the urge.

The sound of her jacket being fastened brought his attention back to her. Flipping her damp hair from underneath her collar she sat back down on the edge of his bed and grabbed a section of her dark hair in her hands. Next to her, the child was lying on her stomach looking around the room as she clutched a soft toy in her hand. 

"So where did you end up sleeping? In a tree? On your ship?" Justice spoke. With deft movements her fingers began to part and braid her hair from the root to the tip. 

Incensed by her words he glared at her and saw that she was watching him with a smile. "Yautja do not require the amount sleep humans need. I did not sleep."

Finishing two more braids she parted another section of hair and began to work at it. Her hands moved with such precise nimble speed, Jarak found himself focusing on the action. Justice yawned and shifted on the bed as she turned her head to part out another section of the long black hair.

"When I wasn't up feeding Larsa, I slept well," she informed him, dropping another completed braid to the pile. She did appear more alert, Jarak noticed with satisfaction recalling her unsteady balance and pained fatigue in her eyes the night before. "I thought it would be hard sleeping without a blanket," she continued. "But it wasn't so bad. So, tell me, what is on the agenda today?"

Standing still, Jarak watched her as she glanced at him expectantly. Over the years he had stalked many human soldiers and had listened as they conversed casually with one another, their topics never ending and subject to frequent change. He realized this was what was happening. Conversing with humans was seemingly not straight forward. Even if their intention was to go directly to one topic, they felt compelled to add unnecessary details that branched the conversation into different paths before getting back to their original desire. It was frustrating.

"You will go before the throne and speak to Rakkah," he answered, wary of where she would take this conversation next.

Justice nodded. "I figured as much."

Finishing with her last braid she got up from the bed and stretched her arms over her head, elongating her tall frame and Jarak could not stop himself from observing her. Her unusual height stuck in his mind like a burr. He did not know human females could get to this size. The other human women on Ojibwe were diminutive and frail in comparison to this one. Waiting as she strapped on her bag, gun, child-harness, and Jarak watched as she picked up the soft child.

"Say good morning to Jarak," using the higher pitched voiced she always used with the child, she took the child's hand and waved it at him like a puppet.

As if becoming aware of his presence the infant fixed her liquid brown eyes at him with ceaseless fixation.

Remembering something Jarak looked down at his waist and pulled at the mesh sack he tied at his hip earlier. He held out the small sack in the palm of his hand. 

Justice gave him a startled look before slowly reaching for the mesh sack and pulling out the red fruits inside. Holding the fruits in one hand, she kept them away from the child's seeking hand as she looked down at them. Silence expanded through the air around them before she turned on her heel and walked towards the sink.

Not turning around, she spoke over her shoulder as she ran the fruit under the water. "I know you are doing this completely for the fact that you want to fight me, but…" her hands paused under the spray of water and Jarak watched as her shoulders tensed. "Thank you. I cannot stop thinking of the very real possibility of Larsa getting injured back on that planet."

Jarak said nothing. This was the second time she thanked him and it felt no less unsettling the second time than it did the first time.

With the fruit washed she held one to her mouth and took a large bite before giving him her familiar smirk as she chewed. "Ok, I'm ready, big guy. Lead the way."

Nodding he turned and raised his hand towards the door's control sensor when he felt the tiny pull at his back.

"Oh no Larsa don't grab his netting." 

Jarak turned only his head and looked over his shoulder at the child reaching for him, her toothless smile was wide as she gripped the netting across his back in her hand. Standing still, he watched the woman's face as she gave him an apologetic smile and reached for the child's questing hand. Warm, nimble fingers replaced the tiny soft ones and he felt the minor tugging of the body net as she extracted the material from the child's grip.

Still talking to the child harnessed to her front, the woman stepped back putting distance between them as he turned back around. "Jarak might growl at you and frighten you and then momma will be forced to tie him up and suspend him from the tree he slept in last night."

"I slept in no tree," he growled, annoyed by her words.

The laughter in her eyes shined back at him and Jarak could see her words were intentionally meant to be provoking and humorous.

Unwilling to back down, his eyes narrowed at the woman. "You could try and tie me up, but you will fail."

The mischief in her eyes danced even brighter at his words and Jarak felt even more lost than before. "Is that what you want, for me to try and tie you up? Are you into that sort of thing, Jarak?"

Blinking he stared at her, absorbing the fine details of the tilting smirk of her full lips and the laughter dancing in her eyes. There was more than humor there, there was something challenging and something…he frustratingly could not place. Something too human and complex to identify immediately. The confusion angered him, lifting his gauntlet, he began to tap on the screen in search for what her words meant when her hand covered his. Looking up from the smooth human hand covering his own, he stared at her. With a smile that showed some of her white teeth, her human features brightened and softened all at once as she shook her head with a laugh causing some of her long braids to sway at the action. 

"No, don't," she chuckled giving him a wry look. "I was just teasing you. If you look it up, I swear you will just find humans tied up in very sexually compromising and disturbing positions. I am sorry, I haven't had a reason to really laugh in what feels like forever, and I'm realizing you can be incredibly fun to tease."

Jerking his gaze away from her, Jarak turned and activated the door. "Come," he said impatiently.

~~

Following Jarak through the palace halls, Justice ignored the sounds of agitated clicks and growls of the hunters lingering throughout. Approaching the grand hall where the placid reflection pool sat under the inverted point of the pyramid, she paused behind Jarak as he turned towards a massive pair of double doors. Easily twelve feet high, the large metal doors were intricately carved with geometric patterns that reminded Justice of the yautja lettering. Bracing his large hands against both doors, Jarak pushed them open slowly revealing the palatial room beyond. A brief flash of apprehension raced up her spine and spread throughout her veins, but Justice took a calming breath and readjusted Larsa in her arms letting the emotion transform into a steel resolve as she stepped in behind the massive hunter.

Scores of inhuman eyes turned to her at once. Ignoring them all she stepped further into the quiet room acutely aware of the weight of Larsa's bottom resting on her left forearm and the rifle that hung from the strap bouncing slightly at her hip with each step. Looking past the forty plus hunters that stood scattered across the room, Justice allowed herself to scan the fine details of the room itself. 

High above on the slanted ceiling windows allowed in much needed light in the dark room. From top to bottom more of the same black metal made up the vast room giving it a cold oppressive feel. Staying along the narrow pathway cut down the middle of the room bordered by two narrow reflecting pools of undisturbed dark water Justice spared the great statues of spear holding yautja that lined the pools' borders a passing glance. Her focus was now at the end of the room--the throne. Sat before a large wall displaying an array of varying skulls a hunter sat quietly on the throne. Rakkah, Justice mentally repeated the name memorizing how Jarak's growling voice had said the name. To the right of the throne, another hunter stood this one wearing a mask unlike Rakkah. Justice ignored the evil red glow of his mask's shielded eyes. 

Coming to a stop directly beside Jarak, Justice felt the prickling awareness of a different kind of stare to her left. Turning her head, she looked over Larsa's curly hair to see three human women staring up at her with obvious awe. Justice made no outward expression at them and turned her attention back to the yautja on the throne once more.

With a regal air, the unmasked leader of the yautja looked at her in silent observance. 

Movement to the far right stole her attention and her whole body stiffened. Narrowing her eyes at the two yautja that stopped to stare at her, she immediately recognized them for what they were. Skinnier and shorter than the other hunters littering the room, these two wore no armor for battle, just simple black leather kilt-like skirts and dark silver ornate collars. They were the scientist.

Never taking her eyes from the two yautja who stared back at her with a flurry of resonating clicks, their eagerness plain in their eyes, she addressed the massive yautja to her left. "Did you deceive me, Jarak?"

"No," he replied firmly. Walking around her back, he stepped to her right obstructing her line of sight to the yautja scientist and theirs to her. Looking up, Justice noted the steady surety in Jarak's fiery eyes and heard the confidence in his rumbling tone. "They will not have you nor the child," he raised a claw hand, the long black claws gesturing towards Larsa who in turn found the deadly digits entrancing. Leaning over in Justice's grip, Larsa reached out and smacked the sides of Jarak's fingers in an attempt to grab them. 

The room seemed to grow even more silent at that action. Looking to Jarak, Justice had to contain the urge to smile at the unreadable look in Jarak's eyes.

"Tell us your name," the deep voice from the throne pulled Justice's attention back to the golden-eyed yautja who sat atop it.

For a moment she did not answer. She knew that once she did, she would be crossing some invisible line she could never undo. Lifting her chin, she stared directly back at the yautja, ignoring Larsa's insistent tug at one of her braids. "My name is Cpt. Justice Dominicus Alpha."

Justice couldn't be sure, but she thought she noted a sense of satisfaction brightening the yautja leader's eyes. "What happened on the planet LV549?"

Justice held back a tired groan and opened her mouth to speak, but flinched along with the other three human women at the piercing sound of Larsa's cry. Looking at her daughter, Larsa stared quietly back, her tiny brow scrunching in agitation signaling she was ready to release another wail if not appeased. Moving quickly, Justice shouldered the back pack off of her shoulder and balanced the bag on one lifted knee. Holding the open bag between her teeth, she rifled through it and could feel all the eyes in the room stare at the scene she was making. Finding the plastic container, Justice pulled it out and unsnapped it and stuck the tiny object in the baby's mouth. Justice heard the human women laugh softly as Larsa turned her focus on the light up toy hanging from the pacifier in her mouth. One of the only toys that made it off LV549. Readjusting herself back to rights, Justice let out a sigh before returning her attention back to Rakkah with a tired look. 

"An infested ship landed without proper quarantine," she began with a deep exhale. "Since it was in my best interest at the time, I made sure to receive alerts and live video feeds of all ships coming into port. The ship was most likely returning from one of the expeditions to some of the outer planets of that galaxy. The Undul corporation, which is who owned and ran the planet, is too cheap to pay for professional security and certainly too prideful to call in for colonial marines as an escort, so they most likely had a few mercs working as shitty security and they ran into a bit of xenomorph trouble," she speculated with a shrug. It’s not like there was any official report made after that so all she had was her best assumption. "The xenomorphs quickly took over which in turn cut me off from any of the escaping ships, leaving my daughter and I stranded on a quickly dying planet. Luckily for us," she paused looking to Jarak with a raised brow, "Jarak showed up."

Silence settled across the room again as Rakkah looked to hunter standing on the dais next to him in silent communication. With one nod the yautja, who Justice assumed was Rakkah's second, began to type something in his gauntlet's data-pad. 

Looking back to her, Rakkah narrowed his beady golden gaze and started without preamble. "What are you?"

The silence in the massive room turned overpowering until Justice could practically see the ripple of on edge tension in the air itself. She smiled a slow arrogant smile at that. For this brief second, she alone commanded the room, every single one including Jarak waited on her next words. She had to admit, it was a pleasurable feeling. 

"I should think you already know the answer to that question."

Rakkah did not reply. Yautja had little patience for games. Looking down to Larsa, Justice stared back into her daughter's eyes and watched her lay her head on her shoulder as her tiny hand squeezed the light up bear dangling from her pacifier. If it was just her, she would take great pleasure in riling the yautja up and giving them hell before they got a single answer, but it wasn't just her--it never has been. The image of her sisters' photo tucked under her pillow back on the infested planet came back to haunt her. 

The gentle pressure of Larsa's grip on her braid pulled her back to the present and her smiled faded as she looked up to Rakkah's waiting gaze.

"I am a creation of the Undul corporation in a sorry attempt to surpass Weyland-Yutani in their cybernetics department," she explained. "I say attempt, because the doctors Undul hired were ex-Weyland employees who somehow escaped the far-reaching corporation. I was bought at birth from a no-named planet in the Noth galaxy, I was then heavily modified and trained as a specialized soldier."

"You're a cyborg," one of the human women whispered with wonder from the far wall to Justice's left.

Turning in their direction for the first time, Justice mentally took in the three women's details before nodding.

"Correct. Not a synthetic artificial intelligence, not an autonomous droid, simply a highly cybernetically enhanced human. Nothing special," she said looking back to Rakkah.

"There is more," Rakkah growled, leaning forward in his seat. Golden eyes blazed with the demand to appease his curiosity fully. Lifting a hand, he pointed a clawed finger to the silent hunter by her side. "Jarak believes you are running from someone."

Justice shrugged. "Jarak is not wrong nor is he completely right. I didn't start off running, not until fourteen months ago," she gave a meaningful look to the child in her arms and she could see the understanding in Rakkah's gaze. As if realizing she was the center of attention, Larsa began to squirm against her. Pulling at the soft toy attached to her pacifier, Larsa pulled it from her mouth and began to wave it in the air. Predicting the action before it happened, Justice shot out a hand just as the toy slipped from the baby's grip and caught it before it landed on the dais.

"Look, before I go any further," she switched Larsa to her other arm and put the pacifier back into her mouth. "I need to know your intentions. I will not fight your hunters for my life or my freedom and I have no intentions of being tested on," she turned and stared pointedly at the two mask-less scientists staring at her with open want. "Can I have your word that Larsa and myself will be unharmed?"

Leaning back in his seat, Rakkah seemed to consider her words before looking to Jarak. Their gazes held for a moment and Rakkah gave a single nod.

The scientist let out a unifying hiss of dissatisfaction, turning to Rakkah with low growls of argument. Justice watched in fascination. She had only heard one or two very short recordings of the yautja speaking in their own language, but now here she was standing amongst them as they used the language freely. The sounds of the scientists' growls and agitated clicks grew until Justice could hear the rising rumble of other hunters in the large room starting to speak. Jarak seemed to grow larger by her side as he stepped closer to her, his beady gaze watchful as he listened intently on the conversation before them. There was a tension in his shoulders that radiated lethal energy and she realized the quiet hulking hunter was becoming angry. Leaning forward ever so slightly, Justice caught a glimpse of his sunburst colored eyes and stiffened. They were practically glowing with rage as he stared at the two scientists. Whatever they were saying did not sit well with the hunter.

Shifting closer to Jarak until her arm brushed lightly against his Justice spoke in a low but playful tone. "Are you going to kill them?"

Justice could feel Rakkah look to her as he heard her inciting words but ignored him, keeping her eyes on the towering hunter at her side. It would be easy she realized, Jarak was bigger than every hunter in here not just in height but in mass. 

"I consider it," the deep reverberating clicks in Jarak's chest thrummed in the air in warning and Justice could feel her own heartrate pick up at the bestial threat. 

Ignoring the still ensuing argument from the smaller yautja scientist, Justice stared up past the red tips of Jarak's dreads and followed them up to the thick black tubular pile they made around his sloping head. "I have to admit, it would be absolutely fascinating to watch you rip them in half, but I would ask you not to do it in front of Larsa," she implored softly letting the baby in her arm lean closer to the hunter. 

Able to reach him now, Larsa's eyes widened as she reached out and smacked at the hunter's thick bicep. Clutching onto his netting, Larsa pulled earnestly in fixation and Justice watched as Jarak pulled his attention from the pair of scientists and turned his head to watch the child tug at his netting. Tension immediately began to ease off the hunter.

A snarl ripped through the air causing everyone's attention to turn back to the Rakkah's second standing on the dais. The eye shields to his mask glowed bright with final warning as he addressed the two scientists in the growling guttural language. Finally quieted, the two yautja stepped back.

Taking a deep breath, Justice looked to Rakkah once more who was still staring at her with interest. "I was forced to make a decision," she began carefully, forcing the words she did not want to say out in the open. "A decision that cost me my family, but spared their lives and their dignity."

With slow movements, Rakkah strummed his claws against the arm rest of his throne until a hologram appeared above their head. Justice stiffened at the video that played before them all. A handful of armored soldiers rushed past the screen, all carrying the familiar anti-matter rifle in their hands, two hung back as the others filed through the door. The video had no sound but it was evident by the slight movement of the two figures' heads that they were conversing. Nodding, the bigger one of the two proceeded through the doorway leaving only the one in the room. Everyone in the throne room watched in silence as the remaining soldier removed the ornate helmet and held it at her side causing the long black braids to fall down the soldier's back. It was odd watching an image of yourself, Justice thought. Watching and recalling the moment, she watched as herself on came take a tired breath and she could swear she could feel that ache of fatigue even now. Without looking up, the image of herself on the video lifted and pointed the rifle over her shoulder, letting it rest on it upside down before firing at the camera. The video went black.

Eyes turned back to Justice and she sensed the unspoken question.

"Yes," she nodded, remembering that day clearly. "The Boraton mission, a medium-sized military space station in the Cyntrx galaxy warring with the Unified Antilion Federation. Mission: go in and eliminate all remaining crew and personnel. It was our thirty-fourth op and we were required to do it in fifteen minutes," she smiled arrogantly before adding. "We did it in ten." 

"And when you say, we," the hunter at Rakkah's side spoke for the first time. "Where are the others that are like you?" 

Turning, she gave the hunter a quelling look. Satisfaction pumped through her veins as she watched the hunter visibly bristle at her look. He looked as if he wanted to jump from the dais and meet her face to face in battle. Ignoring him she looked to Jarak. "Who is that?" 

Turning his head to look down at her, Jarak's eyes glowed with secret amusement that surprised Justice. Waving a nonchalant hand toward the hunter, Jarak answered placidly. "That is Iko, second in command to Rakkah."

"Ah, his lieutenant. I see," she nodded, looking at the agitated hunter in a whole new light. He reminded her of her own lieutenant. Giving the hunter an unexpected soft smile, she watched in concealed delight as the hunter froze in confusion at the gesture. Looking back to Rakkah she continued with the answers he wanted to hear. "I along with twenty other girls were raised and trained under Undul with the specific purpose of surpassing the highest division of Colonial Marines-Force RECON, which of course we did."

Chuffs and grunts of derision from the other hunters around the room punctuated the air, but Justice ignored them and continued. 

"Then of course, things changed very quickly. I woke up one morning and walked into detail for my morning briefing and for the first time in history my lieutenant was just standing there before me," she could hear her own tone lower as she recalled the painful memory and the room quieted as they listened. With a sad smile she looked to Iko and to Rakkah. "If you knew Bex, you would know that was anomaly, there was nothing she hated more than early morning detail." Licking her suddenly dry lips, Justice glanced at the floor before forcing herself to look directly at Rakkah as she relived that day. "Bex just stood there," she whispered. "Still as a statue, and unresponsive, so very unlike my loud, brash sister. I knew immediately something was very wrong." Larsa shifted against her shoulder and turned her face into Justice's neck finding a more comfortable position as her eyes grew heavy. Justice focused on the tiny puffs of breath against her skin as she continued to recount that fateful day. "I slipped out of the room and ran back to our barracks only to find each and every one of my sisters dressing in formation. No talking, no natural swing of their movements as they pulled on their uniforms just the synchronized movements of drones," she hissed the last word through clenched teeth. The familiar fury she felt that day and every day after churning to life once again in her blood.

"But I was unaffected, so I geared up in my suit and cloaked myself and made my way to the science bay. An area we had been strictly forbidden to go in since the moment we could walk, an order I never had any reason to disobey until that day," she gave a morose laugh. "All three of them were in there, the Undul man who ran the program and both of the doctors. They were watching the screens, watching as my sisters stood motionless, discussing how the remote command was working perfectly on them but failed on me, a factor they planned on remedying once the synth guards they dispatched found me." She looked to Rakkah angrily. "They were done with us," even now saying the words she had been thinking for three years since, her tone held a measure of disbelief in it. "They said we were too expensive to keep up any longer," she let out a bitter laugh. "Oh, that's Undul all right. I cheap knockoff of every other corporation that ever was or will be. They have plenty initiative but lack foresight. The bastards were going to sell us to Weyland. No, let me correct that, by the time I got in there and began killing them and their synth fucking guards, they had already fucking sold us and Weyland was on its way to collect. My time was limited and I was forced to make costly decisions quickly," she sneered, every word clipped by anger. Larsa fidgeted restlessly against her sensing her mother's precarious mood. Forcing herself a level of calm, Justice began to pace with the child back in forth in front of the throne adding a slight bounce to her step before carefully and calmly continuing. "Corbin Gubler," she announced, feeling Rakkah and Iko's gaze track her back and forth pacing in front of them. "The Undul executive piece of shit escaped during that fight, to some sort of panic room with an escape pod along with a drive containing the remote command data. With less than three hours, I used what remained of the active control and marched my sisters into a ship we had commandeered on a prior mission still sitting in the hangar. Activating the cryo-pods, I put them all to sleep and went back in and took all the data I could before self-detonating the station's self-destruction protocol. You can confirm this by looking in a no-named galaxy four hundred parsecs away from a miniature black sun in W98T8 galaxy."

As Iko began to type the information in his data-pad Rakkah gave her a waiting look.

"What happened to your sisters?" 

Stopping her pacing she stared directly back at the lead hunter her eyes clashing with golden predatory gaze. "That is not your concern." As if on cue a wave of growls ripped through the room at her words and she ignored them. "Until I find Gubler and the information for the remote command, they will remain safe--and asleep."

"And now," Iko hissed, "Who do you run from now?" 

She could hear the insult in his voice. A wall of heat stepped up behind her and Justice stilled at Jarak's sudden ground quaking snarl directed towards Iko. The room of hunters fell immediately silent while surprise registered briefly in Rakkah's gaze as he looked to Jarak. 

Seeing the responding tension in Iko's body Justice quickly spoke up again, hoping to avoid a fight between the two hunters.

"Well this is where I prove how much of a mistake it was putting me in charge of anything," she resumed, the self-depreciating tone in her voice evident. "I allowed myself to do something very stupid, very weak--very human. I fell in--what I thought--was love."

She grimaced at the derisive chuffs and sneers from the yautja. "Yes, I know how you translate the word," she said rolling her eyes and avoiding Jarak's now curious gaze. "Trust me, I could not agree more, a weakness indeed. I was angry, young, and alone for the first time in my life. Before, I always had my sisters to rely on, their individual strengths to bolster me. But without them, space is a cold and lonely place."

Resuming her pacing she looked up and saw the human women still standing to the side and she smirked at their soft understanding smiles. For some reason the wordless comfort made saying the next part not so terrible. 

"For two years, I tracked Weyland-Yutani, trying to find the exact division within the corporation who wanted my sisters and I. From what I could gather, it didn't belong to any department exactly, only their acquisitions which falls under their Colonial Marines. Basically, loss-prevention, since they consider myself and my sisters Weyland-Yutani property due to the doctors who created us and of course their purchase of us. Their intentions were to obtain us and destroy us, since cybernetic humans are considered messier and far more inelegant than their finely-tuned synths," she grumbled as she paced. "But in my tracking, I hit a road block. My findings stated Gubler had been killed and I could not seem to find who killed him or who obtained his info I needed. I was stuck. And that's when I met--Luke," she breathed the name heavily. Turning on her heel to resume her bouncing pace in the other direction, Justice could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Turning she caught a glimpse of the human women's enthralled stare at this juicy portion of her story and nearly smiled, until she caught Jarak's eyes. The bright aurora of his predatory gaze nearly made her halt in her tracks, frowning she looked away. Catching the eye of one of the women, Justice smirked and continued her explanation. 

"Veronica, my sergeant delta, she is obsessed with these cheesy, online romance fictions," she said with a wave of her hand. "She used to drive me crazy by reading me the damn update every week. I used to dream of hunting down the author and killing them just to make the stories stop," Justice grinned. "But damn if the stupid things didn’t seep into my head or something. Luke was a merc with a handsome face and a slick smile. When I met him for the first time in two years, I found myself laughing for a change and not thinking of the immense guilt on my shoulders. I…I thought maybe I could trust him," she admitted softly, looking at Larsa's sleeping face pressed against her shoulder. "I thought maybe I could have what the women in Veronica's filthy novels could have--someone to rely on besides myself." Her words hardened and she turned back to face Rakkah. "Well I was wrong, because Luke played me," she confessed despite the stabbing pain to her pride. "Turns out Luke was a captain himself, a captain of the Colonial Marines assigned to track me down and obtain the whereabouts of my sisters. Thankfully, he grew impatient for me to come around to trusting him completely, because one night as I slept in his bed, he activated a seemingly improved remote-access on me. The sharp pain in my head woke me up and I knew immediately what he had tried to do, so I played along," she sneered remembering that night as Luke smiled in sick satisfaction when he thought the control was working. "Just long enough to get close and break his fucking neck," she snarled.

Surprisingly she heard a few other growls of satisfaction ripple through the room to the end of her story. 

"And the baby?" The other human woman asked, her eyes affectionately staring at Larsa.

Justice gave the woman a tired smile and a shrug. "Yeah, it seems I was very fertile and physically combatable with that piece of shit," she grumbled. "I found out I was pregnant a month later. So, I went into hiding as you so eloquently put," she cast a challenging look to Iko. "Everything was put on hold. I found myself a job on an Undul planet no less. I knew that would be the last place people would suspect me to run. I got a place to live, and somewhere to safely deliver Larsa. I had plans on resuming my research into the remote-access once Larsa was a little older, but the xenomorph invasion threw yet another wrench into my best laid plans." 

Seemingly satisfied with her account, Rakkah sat back in his throne and stared at her in silent thought. Stepping back, Justice turned and cast a sweeping look across the large throne room and its occupants and stopped on one hunter in particular in the back before coming back to Jarak. Again, the hulking hunter's dark daybreak colored eyes held hers as he stood in quiet observation.

Impatiently one of the scientists stepped forward towards her and immediately stopped at Jarak's sudden threatening growl. Clearly angry the scientist stood in place and pointed a long skinny finger at her. "Why can you resist the control?" he hissed.

"Maybe for the same reason I was modified last, I'm not sure," she gave an ambivalent shrug. "I was the last one to be implanted with my cybernetics and assigned to be alpha of the group. Engineering is not my strength so I couldn't tell you," she replied honestly.

Interested once more Rakkah sat forward on his throne. "What is your strength?" 

"Galactic Security Strategy Practicum, applications in Lethal Scenario Planning, tier five piloting, and the study of predacious species," she ticked off her credentials on one hand.

A quiet filled the room and Rakkah's eyes narrowed with understanding. "Humans use code names for their creations and units of personnel. What name was assigned to you?"

She paused and gave him a long look before glancing at Jarak at her side. Eagerness shined back in his tiny bright eyes and she sighed. "Huntress Sector."

Angry snarls filled the room like a tidal wave, bouncing off the cavernous metal walls around her.

From her left where the human women stood, a hunter with white markings and white eyes stepped forward. "Have you hunted yautja?"

The question hit the room like a bullet and the noise ceased. She did not want to answer this, but saw little choice.

"Non-lethal hunts, yes," she replied matter-of-factly. "And of course, with a male. Nobody in their right mind wants to fight a female yautja," she chuckled with a shake of her head just thinking of fighting a female yautja was enough to make her nanites buzz within her veins. "Although I was fortunate enough to see a female once."

"No yautja would allow themselves to be captured by you and then walk away!" the white eyed hunter roared at her.

The growls of agreement coming from the other hunters was not surprising even the sound of the heavy doors of the throne room opening and shutting with a violent slam was not surprising, but the sudden looming shadow stepping past her was. Looking to her right she was stunned to see Jarak step in front of her. With his hands out to his side, Jarak opened his large hands wide letting the light glint off his thick black claws. A deep rattling crescendo of clicks from the two hunters vibrated the air. Confused and more than taken aback by the protective display, Justice leaned to the side of the massive yautja to see past him and saw that she was not the only one surprised. All three women stared in open mouth shock as they stared nervously back and forth between the yautja standoff.

"Ok, ok, let's stop this now," she commanded, her voice lashing out like a whip. A voice she hadn't used since commanding her sisters. 

Stepping past Jarak, she walked daringly through the standoff and towards the women. "Can you," she caught the eyes of the human with the long silky brown hair, "hold her please?"

A hunter with red marking tried to step forward but the woman waved him off with a warning look and practically ran to meet Justice. "Of course," she beamed tilting her head back to stare up at Justice.

Ready and more than willing she accepted Larsa's weight with a gentleness and practice of a woman who was very familiar with children.

Taking a step back, Justice gave the woman a serious look and pointed to the ground. "Do not move from this spot," she warned. "I want her in my peripheral at all times."

Spinning on her heel, Justice walked back to the two hunters who now stared at her with open curiosity. Stopping in front of the yautja with the white markings she gave him a cold, pitying smile. "Let me explain this to you but once," she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear but kept her eyes on him alone. "At my full capabilities I am simply better than you. I am stronger, faster, and superior to you in every way and as a part of a pack I am unstoppable. I could capture you and release you like a fish," she could see her words hit the hunter's pride like bullets. Challenge gleamed predictably back at her in his white eyes as she continued. "But luckily for you I am not at my full capabilities." Turning away from the hunter she turned to face Jarak and let some of her arrogance fade as she smiled softly at the huge hunter. "I could not give you the fight you seek because my suit, which classifies me as part of the huntress sector you see in the video," she pointed to the frozen image of herself still projected above them, "is stuck on a planet overrun with xenomorphs." 

Cocking his head slightly to the side Jarak considered her words.

Looking back to Rakkah, she held out both hands at her side in defeat. "So here I am, at your mercy," she announced. "I would like nothing more than to stay here. I find yautja fascinating and your world very beautiful, but I have enemies Rakkah, powerful enemies with no honor. I cannot in all honesty ask for you to allow me to stay, because if I do, I would be putting you all in danger."

Standing from his throne, Rakkah stood on the dais and looked down at her. "You fear that if I allow you to stay you will bring Weyland-Yutani to Ojibwe?"

"Yes."

Looking beyond her to the gathering of yautja around the room, Rakkah's eyes glittered with arrogant challenge which reflected back in all his hunters. Slowly, he swept a clawed hand across the room in silent indication. "Then let them come."


	10. Chapter 10

With a dismissive gesture Rakkah called the meeting to an end. Immediately, Justice could hear the three women pull themselves from the wall and quickly walk her way at the chance to speak to her. The sudden ending to the gathering, however, was something the two scientists, still standing next to the dais, did not seem to appreciate. In unison they approached the regal yautja with hissing growls and demanding gestures. Justice watched with intrigue as his second, Iko, began to step towards the two skinny yautja.

"We should have access to more!" one snarled in a higher pitch, clearly changing the spoken language so that she could hear. "For years now we have had no additional information on these cyborgs and now," he waved a hand towards her. "Here one is, their leader no less. We should have-"

"Enough!" Rakkah snapped and the room immediately went quiet once more and the three women froze in place. "I have given her and the child refuge on Jarak's honor. If you disagree you may take it up with Jarak," Rakkah lifted his hand, gesturing to the massive hunter still standing at her side. 

As if waiting for the opportunity, Jarak took one ominous step forward and Justice could practically see the pride within the two scientists fraying at the edges as they forced themselves not to retreat back. 

"Wait," she groaned, disgusted with herself for about to give up the opportunity to watch a good fight. Stepping forward, she gave the two scientists withering looks. "You want more? Then here," she said, raising up her hand and turning one of the white rings with a flick of her thumb.

Activating with a silvery glow along the edges, the two rings on her hand lit up and cast out a blue holographic keyboard. Typing in few functions, she cast the video to Rakkah's throne taking over the previous image of her still hovering in the air. A video began to play, and all eyes turned upward to watch, except hers. She didn’t need to watch the video, she remembered it perfectly. 

A much younger image of herself was being drug into a sterile operating room kicking and screaming. Justice looked to Larsa still in the human woman's arms and smiled gratefully as the woman immediately covered the sleeping child's ears while her own eyes grew round and horrified as she stared up at the video. Stoically Justice stood and listened without feeling as the sound of surgical drills began to whir and her own much younger screams echoed off the metal walls around them. 

"By the gods," the other woman with long black hair cried and she cast a pleading look to the throne. "Rakkah!" she demanded.

Immediately the video stopped.

Curiously, Justice looked up to the yautja leader who now stood next to his second, his clawed hand still flat on the controls of his throne's armrest. It was odd the human could make such a command and the hunter listen.

Pulling her thoughts away from the curious scene, Justice smiled coolly to the scientists. "Will videos like this and lab files be sufficient enough to quell your urge of dissecting me?"

Where there was a quiet disgust still hanging in the air amongst the other hunters, there was a near carnal craving emanating from the two scientists. 

"Yes," one practically purred as he held his hand out in eager demand. "It will suffice."

Refusing to get near the creepy pair, Justice walked over to Jarak and held out one of her white rings for him to take. She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she met Jarak's eyes. Maybe his usual unreadable eyes and blank crab face, but what she was not expecting was his visceral anger. Surprised she stared at the eight-foot hunter as his overly bright red and orange eyes met hers. Flaring in and out, his mandibles moved with each seething breath. Taking the ring from her, he turned with a whip of his dreads slicing through the air and made his way to the dais and stopped.

"I will have counsel with Rakkah," he announced in a voice deep enough for everyone to not only hear, but feel in their chest. Looking at the two scientists, Jarak pointed at them. "As well as you two. Everyone else, leave."

Justice could see the bristling pride in the other hunters at the command, but they followed it nevertheless. And Justice knew in that moment as the human women surrounded her and ushered her towards the giant doors with them that there was probably no hunter on this planet with the balls enough to go against Jarak.

Herded out the door successfully Justice stood amongst the human women as the large doors to the throne room closed, shutting her last glimpse of the gigantic hunter behind them. Mentally preparing herself, Justice turned her attention to the women fully. All three of their curious gazes met hers immediately. 

Holding out her hands, Justice gestured to the woman holding Larsa. "I'll take her now, thank you."

Almost looking sad to let the plump baby go, the shorter woman gently transferred Larsa's warm weight back into her arms.

"It was my pleasure, my Okaj is nearly four and I cannot tell you how much I miss this stage," the woman laughed, her eyes darting back to Larsa with obvious yearning.

Justice's wasn't quite sure what to say to that. Larsa was her first and only experience with children. Sure, she imagined Larsa getting bigger, more independent but she never really sat and imagined the day Larsa would be too big to sleep against her shoulder. There were too many other things on her mind, more pressing matters to think about. 

"I'm Ember by the way," the woman smiled before gesturing to the woman at her side, the one that commanded Rakkah with only the use of his name. "And this is Ahzma, and Esmerelda, our very own human doctor of Ojibwe," she added indicating the third woman with the bun of curly brown hair."

Feeling a little awkward, Justice nodded. "Hello."

She could see the disappointment in Ember's eyes at her lacking social skills and Justice suppressed a sigh. She wasn't good at this type of shit. Growing up, she was taught to give and receive orders not small talk. When she was around her sisters, Justice had always relied on them to keep the conversation going while she was content to listen and laugh off to the side. Now here she was thrust out into space without them and she was fucking useless.

Dressed in a very fine sari like outfit, Ahzma waved towards one of the large hallways on the other side of the palace's grand hall. Justice caught the curious stares of many hunters but no one approached them.

"Come, there is much to show you and I am sure you-"

"The child needs to be vaccinated first and foremost," the doctor interrupted brusquely. 

Pulling a handheld tablet from her back pocket, the woman tapped rapidly at the screen before turning it and holding it up for Justice to see. Scanning the data quickly with her retinal interface, Justice read all the lists and diagrams of Ojibwe's known pathogens, committing them to memory in seconds. Memories of Larsa's last injection on LV594 still haunted Justice to this day. Like a kneejerk reaction she had grabbed the doctor by the neck at the sound of Larsa's intense cries at the painful shot. It was awful, Justice had spent practically the rest of the night cuddling and playing with Larsa to help her and herself get over the traumatic event.

As if reading her mind Ember gave her a compassionate smile. "I know it's terrible, but she really will need to get it and once it’s over she won't ever need another one."

Esmerelda took the first few steps in the direction of the hallway indicated earlier followed by Ahzma, both looking back at Justice hesitantly in hopes she would follow. 

Looking back at the large closed doors to the throne room, Justice considered opening them and finding Jarak so she could yell at the bastard. He didn't say anything about shots. Reluctantly, she followed the women.

Down the long dark metal halls, Ember and Ahzma chatted incessantly; everything from Ojibwe's humid weather to pointing to different features of the palace. They were cheerful and excited tour guides.

"Right now, both of our daughters are napping," Ahzma gestured between Ember and herself. "But once they wake up maybe we can introduce them to you."

"Oh yeah," Ember piped up, her long silky brown hair bouncing as she walked. "Normally, Akur spends a few hours with Okaj after her nap, but I can just switch it an around a little."

Akur. The odd guttural name bounced around through Justice's head. That was not a human name. A thought suddenly formed in her mind but Justice rebuked it. Surely not--right?

"And when you say Akur…" Justice let the statement linger out in the open as she waited for the bubbly girl to take the bait.

"My mate," Ember offered. "The big one with the red markings and orange eyes that I shooed away earlier."

Justice stopped walking and all three women stopped and turned to look at her. 

"Wait," Justice held up her free hand as she tried to rebuke the information her mind had already pieced together. "You are saying that yautja…is your…mate?" she practically hissed the odd term.

A number of emotions crossed the shorter woman's face: surprise, confusion, but namely an acute sense of defensiveness. Justice watched as the three women shared wary looks before looking back to her. 

Standing straighter as if readying herself for an attack, Ember nodded. "Yes, he is my mate and the father of my child. Just as Rakkah is her mate and father to her two girls," she gestured to Ahzma.

Justice's eyes went wide as understanding dawned upon her. That was why the woman could control Rakkah so easily, he was her husband. 

"Absolutely fascinating," Justice murmured as she resumed walking.

Warily, the women followed along watching her with cautious stares. 

"I had no idea yautja would have sex with humans much less, were able propagate with them," Justice's mind was racing as she imagined the two male yautjas with the tiny humans. She wasn't quite sure how it was possible, the size difference alone was immense.

Looking down at the women, her gaze must have shown her amazed confusion. Tension eased from both women's shoulders and the soft accepting kindness creeped back in their gazes.

"Oh yes, it is possible," Ember smirked. "It's a long story but three half human half yautja children later it was all worth it."

Turning down another corridor, Justice soothingly rubbed Larsa on the back as the baby squirmed against her shoulder. "If you do not mind, I would like nothing more than to hear this entire story," she admitted.

With rapt attention Justice sat within the doctor's empty lab on top of a stool and listened to Ember's story on how she and Akur were held hostage and experimented on which resulted in their child. She then listened to Ahzma's story and her forced marriage to the yautja leader and was inwardly stunned by the woman's tender smile towards the foreboding yautja leader. 

"Though the yautja scientists already found a cure for the fertility problem amongst Ojibwe last year, and to be honest I was excited when Jarak came to our home the other night announcing he brought home a human," Ember confessed a little sheepishly. "I thought our giant human hating warrior had maybe had a change of heart."

Ahzma, who was sitting on side by side with Ember on the cushioned examining table, nodded with a dreamy little smile. "The first thing I thought, was finally another woman to talk to and a mother no less. I can't tell you how disappointing it was when they found the cure and we realized no other yautja wanted human mates."

Justice almost nodded herself at that statement but thankfully refrained. To her it made perfect sense. Why would creatures who spent every waking hour thinking of the hunt and supremacy ever want to mate with humans? No matter how beautiful, kind, or funny these two women were, Justice could not imagine the notion catching on with most yautja. But she said nothing on that, she knew from previous experiences with normal human women on LV549 and even her earlier remark in the hallway, that her blunt personality was off-putting. Social skills were markedly absent in her teachings growing up, a fact that always became painfully obvious when she was forced to interact with others.

"I can see how it would be…rather lonely here," she answered diplomatically. "In terms of normal social interaction and human connection."

"Yes," all three women answered at once before looking to one another and laughing. 

Leaning against the metal counter along the wall which held various medical equipment, Esmerelda let out a sigh of agreement. "I confess even I have found myself craving more interaction, when a few years ago all I ever craved was time alone to read and study."

Justice smiled at that, that reminded her of her sister Cora. Quiet and studious and who liked nothing better than for the rest of her sisters to shut up so she could read and sit with her thoughts. 

"Yes, well I guess this proves too much of anything can be a bad thing," Justice said. 

A pause of silence filled the space between them and Esmerelda turned to grab a syringe and vial. Sliding from the examination table both women stood before Justice. 

"I am really sorry you have had such a rough life," Ember said, her eyes shimmering with sadness. "Everything from being raised by monsters, separated from your sisters, and being alone and pregnant."

"Especially those horrible experiments on you as a kid," Ahzma shuddered. 

Ember lifted her arm and for the first time Justice realized both women wore diminutive yautja gauntlets on their right arms. Flicking open the data-pad she glanced at it before making a noise of disappointment in her throat. 

"Sadly, I don’t think we will have time to introduce you to the girls today. They are just now waking up, and I got to get back and cook and do a buttload of other chores."

"Can we all come and see you and Larsa tomorrow?" Ahzma inquired and Justice could see the hopefulness in the woman's eyes. 

Justice lifted her free shoulder in a shrug. "Sure, I won't be doing anything other than probably trying to fend off curious, prideful hunters from fighting me."

Both Ahzma and Ember laughed as if she made a joke and headed towards the door. 

"Yeah, like anyone would even dare cross Jarak," Ember laughed. "See you tomorrow."

Justice watched them both leave and stared at the door that slid shut behind them. "I think those two may have the wrong impression about Jarak and myself. He brought me here for curiosity's sake and for a fight not…" she gestured towards the door with a wave of her hand. "Whatever it is that they have with their hunters."

"Mmm," Esmerelda murmured with her back towards her as she stood at the counter. "Well it is true that Jarak certainly does not like humans, but I can say from the very little I have heard about the overgrown yautja that he is very...how should I say it, rigid in his thinking," she explained as she filled the syringe with the clear liquid in the vial. "If he feels in some way responsible for you two, he will not under any circumstance allow another hunter to interfere with you."

Justice scoffed at that and stood up from the stool and the doctor was forced to look up at her at her full height. 

"Allow," Justice repeated the word with disdain. "Jarak will only be allowing and not allowing things as per my orders. I can take care of myself."

Esmerelda only gave her an unreadable smirk before looking pointedly to Larsa. "Are you ready?"

Glowering at the woman for what she knew what was to come, Justice jostled Larsa enough to wake her and kissed her face before nodding to the doctor.

~*

There was a hum of activity in the palace's air that did not sit well with Jarak. His brethren were talking about the woman and watching. Walking down the corridor towards the lab, his gaze swept back and forth from one hunter to another catching their curious stares. Justice's inciting words of her skill was spreading and behind it intrigue--and that irritated him. 

Swiping at the lab door's control, Jarak entered the room seeing only the human doctor sitting at her desk. 

Looking up, she gave him a tired look. "If you're looking for Justice then you just missed her. I gave Larsa an immunization and let's just say that both of them were very upset with me," she grumbled. 

Jarak felt his irritation grow, but he kept his resolve. He knew the human women were frightened of him, he did not want to deal with human hysterics before he got his answers. "Where is she now?" he said evenly.

Paling a little, the doctor shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don’t know."

Irritation began to mutate into anger and Jarak turned on his heel and exited the lab. Standing in the corridor, he looked down the long hall trying to predict where the woman and child went. 

Reaching into the small pouch hidden within his belt and pulled out the white ring.

~*

She was sitting on one of the great ledges that formed the black pyramid's step-like design. Having found a door earlier that led to the outside, Justice had spent the last few minutes consoling her crying daughter. Surrounded by an emerald green jungle on an alien planet, Justice wanted nothing more than to sit and appreciate the beauty of this planet, but how could she. Looking down at Larsa's tear streaked face, Justice felt the stab of guilt as Larsa's sweet brown eyes looked at her over the curve of her naked breast. Suckling slowly, the infant ate, but Justice knew she was still fussy. Once she finally finished it would take most likely a few minutes of serious consoling to work her back down to comfort. 

Looking back up, Justice squinted from the sun. She was annoyed right now and she knew it wasn't going to get any better judging by the large figure moving up the side of the pyramid towards her. 

With barely any effort, Jarak leapt up and over the ledge she sat on clearing the five-foot distance easily. Standing next to where she sat, he let out a disapproving growl as he looked around them. 

"Come," he ordered.

Lifting her chin, Justice purposly looked away from him. She wasn't even going to grace that command with a response. Not bothering to look at him, she lifted Larsa from her breast and readjusted the baby against her shoulder, not bothering to cover her naked breast. 

Jarak shifted next to her and she could hear the rolling clicking emanate from deep within his chest. In a way it was a rather soothing noise, especially knowing it was the sound of his irritation she thought with a satisfied smile.

"Do you require me to carry you, human?" he growled and Justice turned to look at him unsure if he was joking or not.

Jarak's face was unreadable, his bright sunrise eyes staring back at her as he waited. The big lunk was serious!

Justice glowered at him. "I'd rather eat glass," she said through clenched teeth as she rubbed Larsa's soft little back.

A note of satisfaction glimmered through the giant's eyes and Justice had the sneaking suspicion she had been played. 

"Then come," he commanded once more. 

"Jarak," she said his name in an exasperated sigh. "I am hungry, annoyed, and would like one moment to myself. And newsflash, Larsa is very much tired of being held all day and night," she groaned tilting her head back, letting her long braids fall like a curtain behind back and she stared up at the bright blue sky as she spoke. "I know you don't know anything about human children, but they are not as strong as yautja at this stage. Quite the opposite. Babies need lots of quiet, undisturbed sleep."

Jarak made a deep rumbling noise and she wondered if it wasn't the yautja's own sigh of frustration. 

"You can have all of that if you do as I say," he growled. "Rakkah has bestowed me a domicile, you will come with me."

She had no idea what that even meant nor cared. "I will not-"

Moving faster than she had ever seen in him move, Jarak leaned forward and ran his clawed hand from the base of her bare breast, where the open nursing flap of her bra still dangled and strummed his hand gently up the curve of her breast, grazing the sensitive nipple on its passage. With a little snap, the hidden magnetic clasp of the nursing flap snapped together with the strap, covering her back up. Her hand was already gripping his wrist, but she had been too stunned to even do anything.

Looking up into his eyes, she watched as a trace of amusement glittered in the tiny predatory eyes. Stepping back, Jarak held her rifle in his left hand, which had been sitting on the ledge to her right, and she realized the play and how she fell for it completely. The bastard.

Turning Jarak began walking towards the door she used to get out here, knowing she would follow. 

Well the big bastard had another thing coming. 

Standing up, with her jacket still unzipped and her bra showing, Justice raised her right hand and internally signaled the rifle. Snatching from his hand, the rifle sailed through the air and landed in her grip. Jarak turned and looked at her and she didn't bother hiding her satisfied smile. 

"You keep fucking around with me Jarak, and may just get the fight you crave," she warned with a deadly smile.

For a second, the colossal hunter seemed to consider her words before slowly walking back towards her. Justice tensed as he kept approaching, stepping far closer than he usually did until she could feel the heat from his body. Reflexively her hand tightened on the grip of her rifle, but she did not raise it. She didn't know much about Jarak but she was confidant of one thing, he would not hurt her without very good reason especially not while she was holding Larsa. 

Bending down until his face was next to hers, he growled very low and very softly. "I look forward to it."

Speechless Justice followed him as he turned around and walked into the palace.


	11. Chapter 11

Squinting, Justice turned over in the bed trying to block out the glow of sunlight. Stopping her turn instinctually at the warm presence next to her, Justice opened her eyes and looked down at Larsa's sleeping face. Dressed in a yellow and white striped onesie, her tiny fist lay centimeters from Justice's face while her other arm was splayed out to the side. Stretched out and very much content, her tiny chest rose and fell with each breath. 

When was the last time Justice just sat and stared at her daughter like this? Carefully and quietly, so not to jostle the infant Justice lifted her hand to prop up her head. It had to be over a week ago on her last off day, right? That day she had purpsoely lounged in bed late and stared at Larsa through the slats of her crib and watched her sleep as her mind had drifted to her sisters. That day seemed like a lifetime ago. 

Last night she had followed Jarak through the quiet jungle city until they reached the tree line at the edge of the city, walking a few more yards he had stopped in front of a much smaller pyramid tucked within the dense jungle's trees. It wasn't until she followed Jarak through the threshold did she finally understand his earlier words, "Rakkah has bestowed me a domicile." He had given them a new place to stay. Thankfully a much bigger one, she had thought with smirk. 

Smiling even now, she looked over Larsa to the wall beyond and scanned the empty room. Unlike the palace, the inner walls of the pyramid were made out of a lighter gray metal leaving the only bit of contrast in the room: the black mattress and the large sloping windows along the slanted walls. But that was where the differences stopped. Everything else was utterly uniform with the yautja sense of style she was coming to know. Walking in last night, she had at first thought Rakkah had given Jarak a spare storage facility or something, the entire place seemed empty. But her retinal scans quickly revealed the house--pyramid--was just like the ship and his previous shoebox apartment, its walls were lined with hidden features. With complete, albeit silent, permission Justice had spent the better part of the night pushing buttons and exploring each room. It was easy to see the tiny pyramid was designed for a family: with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large common area which also contained the kitchenette area, and a storage room complete with a work bench and obvious meet hooks suspended from the ceiling, the new home was just perfect for the modern yautja. 

Laughing at her own joke, she looked back down at Larsa as she slept. Above her was supposedly Jarak's room, though she had no idea if he was currently in it or not. With three levels and all identical bedrooms it wasn't much of a decision choosing the one she and Larsa would use, she had simply gone up the floating metal stairs and opened the first door on the left. Jarak had quietly watched her, slowly taking in the place himself during her brief tour of the empty space saying hardly anything as usual. Justice couldn't be sure what the brawny hunter was thinking as he had quietly sat crossed-legged on the metal floor in the living area last night. All the while as she experimented with the food processor, making herself nearly five plates of grilled fish and vegetables he had sat there in quiet contemplation. A few times she opened her mouth to speak, but found her shutting it promptly when she met his bright fire orange and red gaze looking back at her. At first, she was curious if he planned on staying there that night as well, but her answer was quickly answered when he later stepped outside the door and brought in a large metal box from outside and began removing various weapons and items. She assumed that was a yes to him living there then. Annoyingly the realization only led her thoughts down another trail that stopped at a particularly vexing thought. In the palace, during her public accounting of her life she remembered Jarak and Rakkah sharing some sort of silent exchange after she had asked Rakkah directly for his word that she and her daughter would be safe on Ojibwe. Did he assign her to Jarak? The thought more than bristled her pride, it made her want to march back down to that palace and have another word with the yautja leader. 

Shifting with a frowning baby grunt in her sleep, Larsa stretched both of her arms out taught as if in a silent sleeping rage before relaxing again. Taking this as her cue, Justice moved. Using her years of training and strong core muscles, Justice slowly lifted her head and legs off the mattress and slowly pivoted her body on her butt until her legs dangled over the clear space on the side of the bed. Lowering her feet to the floor she raised her body like a reverse limbo off the bed until she was in the clear. Glancing back at Larsa to make sure she hadn't stirred, Justice silently dashed to the bathroom and let out a ragged sigh behind the closed doors. Give her an army to lead into battle any day, she thought tiredly. Motherhood was hands down far more rigorous.

Cleaning up, she stared down at her folded clothes on the bathroom counter. Last night she had used the washing basin again, cleaning her one and only pair of clothes and underwear. Sighing, she put on the pants and zipped up the top once again before tip-toeing out of the room. Standing on the stair's landing, she looked down to the living area below, it was empty. Looking up, she hesitated for a moment before silently ascending the stairs. Was Jarak asleep in his new bed? How did he even feel about this place and the sudden change to his life, she wondered? Was he upset to leave his shoebox apartment? 

Making it up just enough until she could see the door to the room, she paused in a frown. The door was open and from what she could sense, the room was empty. Did he even sleep in there last night? Short of scanning the bed with her retinal scans for any lingering heat signature it’s not like there were any outwards signs she could tell by since yautja obviously didn't believe in sheets or pillows. 

Going downstairs, she made her way directly to the food processor and tapped in the commands for scrambled eggs, with seasoned whitefish. Yautja technology was so amazing, she thought, as she leaned against the counter. From her exploring and experimental button pressing she found that the walls in each room were equipped with little robots that came out every so often and cleaned the floors, walls, and surfaces. It was amazing. Every little thing gave her more and more insight on the naturally aggressive species and it made her want to know even more. 

A faint dinging sounded at the front door and Justice paused. Grabbing her rifle off the kitchen counter, she walked to the front door and stopped. On the viewing screen, Ahzma smiled. Putting her rifle back down on the counter, Justice pushed the button on the control panel next to the door. 

"Hi, am I bothering you?" Ahzma greeted her as she stepped inside ushering in a floating black box.

"Not at all," Justice raised a questioning brow to the trailing black box as they both stopped in the open living room.

Smiling, Ahzma looked around the room as if searching for something. 

Realizing who she was looking for Justice laughed and pointed up the stairs. "If you're looking for Larsa, she is upstairs hopefully sleeping for at least twenty more minutes while I eat fish and eggs with my fingers."

Ahzma nodded with a quiet laugh of her own before turning to the mystery box. "Well I am just in time," running her fingers along the side of the box, the top opened. "I brought over a bunch of things Ember and I knew you would need," she said digging through the box picking up various things. "There is flatware, more baby toys, feminine products, soaps and other toiletries, and most importantly," she paused with a grin before whipping out a few folded items. "Clothes!"

Relief and happiness surged through Justice's veins as she spotted the folded underwear. "Oh, thank the sun and stars."

For the first time since being with her sisters Justice had the foreign urge to hug the girl, which was odd to say the least since hugs and unnecessary human contact normally bothered her.

As if reading her mind, Ahzma took the confusing decision from her and hugged her outright. "I know how tough it is to get used to this planet, but we are here for you."

For the briefest millisecond Justice felt a tightening in the back of her throat at the kind words and checked herself immediately. Shocked and little disconcerted at her reaction from the genuine affection the girl was giving, Justice gave a brusque nod and stepped back and cleared her throat.

"Thank you," she said with a smirk, her voice a little rough sounding. "I was just thinking how long was I going to be able to make it in these same clothes for the foreseeable future."

"Oh, I completely understand, if it wasn't for my people on Tani I would have nothing to wear."

Grabbing a fork out of the box, Justice sat at the counter with Ahzma and began to eat as Ahzma explained the planet her people were forced to adopt and the various goods they made for export. 

"Some of the clothes aren’t going to fit you very well, since you're so tall. But once I can get your measurements sent over, I will have a bunch of clothes made for you."

Justice paused mid bite as she looked worriedly at Ahzma's beautiful green and black, flowing sari-like outfit.

Knowing what she was thinking, Ahzma shook her head and waved away the assumption. "Oh no, don't worry. The ones we have made will be like what you're wearing now or what Ember was wearing yesterday. Sturdy pants and shirts you can move freely and work out in if you like."

With a relieved smile, Justice resumed eating as Ahzma happily chatted. 

The sound of the door swooshing open made them both freeze. Stepping around the corner holding a folded pile of black leather in his hand Jarak stopped and looked at them.

"Mate of Rakkah," he acknowledged deeply.

"Hi Jarak," Ahzma replied back with a soft smile. "Did you bring Justice a blanket? That was nice of you."

Grunting in agreement, Jarak sat the material on the end of the counter and Justice could see that Ahzma was right. It looked like a folded leather blanket and a leather pillow, and sitting on top were three familiar red orbs.

"Fruit! Hell yes, are those for me?" Justice beamed, looking at Jarak with unexpected excitement.

Blinking Jarak stared at her for a moment, his mandibles flaring once before he pushed the pile closer to her in silent answer.

"Thanks," she said greedily plucking one of the apples from the pile and washing it in the sink.

A cry from above shifted all three of their attentions towards the second floor. 

Taking one last bite of her fruit, Justice stood up with an apologetic smile. "Well, it’s time to start the day."

Standing up, Ahzma called out as Justice got to the stairs. "Umm if you are interested Ember and I are taking the girls to go see Koga today so that they can get their own hounds he promised them."

Her mind began to race with thoughts of what the yautja considered hounds and she nodded emphatically. "I'll be there, give me an hour."

~*~

The sun was setting by the time Justice was able to pry Larsa from Ember's arms and even think about going back to Jarak's home. She couldn't remember the last time she was surrounded by so much excitement and talking. Looking down at Larsa's tired sleeping face, Justice gave the baby a pitying smile as she walked down the metal path that cut through the quiet yautja city. From the moment they had met up with the other two women and their three little girls, Larsa was surrounded by people who wanted nothing more than to hold and kiss her--especially Ember. While the toddlers ran obediently behind Koga, a tall yautja with blue body markings and matching bright blue eyes, Ember had stayed back next to Justice holding Larsa in her lap. And for the first time since meeting the overly cheerful woman Justice saw her smile falter and her expression turn to longing as she cuddled Larsa.

"I want another baby," she confessed.

Blinking in shock Justice took a moment to recover. Looking to Ahzma, who stood next to Koga instructing her twin girls and Okaj on what to expect and what to do when Koga released the young hounds, Justice observed the four-year old Okaj. With eyes just like her father's, Okaj was sweet and hyper like any little girl that age. Her seemingly endless bouncing energy almost at times seemed too much Ember which only made Justice question the woman's want for another. But Justice knew that thought was not something the woman wanted to hear and certainly not the cause of her dejected tone.

Thinking for a moment, Justice looked back at Ahzma's twin girls, Nyla and Noko, and back to Larsa before asking quietly. "Are you unable to have more?"

Ember gave her a solemn little nod.

A rare note of empathy bloomed within Justice at the woman who stared at Larsa witch such affection. It might not be exactly the same, but Justice could understand the hopeless pit that settled in your soul when something you wanted felt so out of reach. The sedate moment was quickly dispelled as Koga released the three pups. Squealing and scampering surrounded them all and the afternoon was seized by the three little girls' excitement as they chased and played with their new hounds. 

Stepping off the branching path that led towards the jungle's thick tree line, Justice felt the hairs on her neck raise in awareness. Stopping, she put one arm around Larsa's back who slept quietly in her harness. Lifting her rifle, Justice scanned her surroundings. Miniature pyramid buildings much like the one Jarak was given lined the street like path that led to the palace. Ahzma had told her earlier as they sat and watched the girls play that most of the buildings belonged to unmated off-world hunters while the rest of the yautja of Ojibwe were either in the palace barracks or mated and scattered across the planet's jungle terrain. Whoever was watching her now wasn't just taking a stroll back to their house, Justice thought as her finger hovered steadily over the trigger. Picking up no unnatural movements in the trees and no sounds other than the repetitive croaks and calls from the jungle nightlife, Justice resumed walking while keeping her senses on full alert. Someone was watching her, someone who didn't want to be seen.

With the sun falling quickly behind the jungle canopy, the bulky figure on the path ahead of her was draped in shadows. Lowering her rifle, Justice cast a narrowed look at the hunter as he stepped into the light. 

"Did you just come from the west of me? Hiding?" she added skeptically as she approached.

Stopping in front of her, Jarak turned and scanned the area just as she did moments before, his bright orange and red eyes piercing the darkness before looking back down at her. "No," he shook his head once. "I have come from our domicile to come get you."

Her gaze narrowed even more at that statement and she absently wondered if her eyes were now glowing as well at the outrage. "I don't need to be fetched, Jarak. I can take care of myself, " she said through gritted teeth.

Looking back up, Jarak scanned the trees to the west once more as he answered in a low rumbling growl. "That has yet to be determined."

A fury so hot made her muscles ache with the need for action. Tapping her trigger finger restlessly on the side of her gun, Justice gave the towering crab-faced beast a warning look just as she opened her mouth to argue.

"Until then," Jarak cut her off, his beady inhuman eyes snapping back to hers. "I will know your movements," he decreed finally before turning around. 

For a brief second, she considered shooting him. Where would she do it? The back or his leg? Would she maim or shoot to kill? Every option seemed so wonderful she thought as she begrudgingly marched forward. God, she missed her suit. With her suit this whole back and forth between them would be solved and she would see those tiny eyes of his widen in realization right before she kicked his ass. 

Following him in the house, she suddenly stopped in the living area and stared at the items before her in silent astonishment. In the middle of the floor sat a metal crib. Justice knew it was a crib and not a tiny baby jail with its black metal bars because inside was a tiny black leather mattress. Next to the crib was another recognizable, albeit utilitarian black metal design, a baby high chair. 

One by one strange, unfamiliar feelings churned in her chest and tried their best to crawl up her throat leaving it tight with the pent-up emotions she dared not release. Blinking rapidly, Justice fought hard and won over the unwanted emotions and looked to Jarak who stood next to her in infernal silent observance.

She tried to say something glib, but she could not open her mouth. It was if there was some part of her brain that still did not trust the tightness that still lingered behind her eyes and in her throat and would not let her speak.

Jarak tilted his head slightly causing some of his red tipped dreads to shift against his massive shoulders and more to join the others laying against his half bare chest. "These are items for Larsa," he explained slowly.

She wanted to laugh at that. Earlier, Ahzma and Ember carefully and politely told her some of the other yautja thought Jarak to be mentally deficient. HA. Justice would have laughed if a strange fury had not have overtaken her. As if sensing her anger, and no doubt seeing it in the cybernetics in her brightening eyes, they rushed to explain it was most likely jealousy from the others and maybe even a little to do with the fact that Jarak only ever conversed of the hunt. Well, what else was there to talk about, Justice had wondered in outrage?! Of course, he would talk of that, he was yautja. Besides, she had told them, Jarak was not dumb in any fashion if anything the big meathead hid his conniving ways behind his simple speech and blank looks. She was sure he was using this reputation to his advantage; she just wasn't quite sure how yet.

"Yes, I can see that," she managed to whisper. "But…" Why, was the word at the tip of her tongue, but she could not utter the emotion laden word.

Turning to look at the items, Jarak gave her questioning look. "Are they not suitable?"

Feeling her stupid heart swell, she stomped forward and away from the hunter. "Of course, they are," she hissed.

Damn him. Wrangling the riotous emotions within her, she steeled her nerves and stood a little straighter and ran an appraising hand against the crib's cold metal surface. 

"How did you…I wasn't sure yautja children slept in…" she tried to sound like her usually stern, cool self but even she could hear the strain in her words.

"Hatchlings sleep with their mother until they are whelps," he informed her deeply.

Nodding at that, she mentally filed that away for later examination. Gathering her composure, she turned around and looked at Jarak who still stood staring at her. 

"Thank you," she said softly. 

For the first time since meeting the giant yautja, Jarak turned his gaze from hers first and she wondered if maybe he was just uncomfortable by these emotions as she was. Walking past her, he grabbed the heavy looking crib and picked it up easily with one hand. Without waiting for her, he carried it up the stairs towards her room.

After bathing and feeding Larsa, Justice was finally able to attend to herself. Justice pulled out one of the folded t-shirts from the box Ahzma brought over and she gratefully slipped it over her head. It felt like magic. For the first time in over a week she was wearing something other than her zip-up shirt-jacket and her pants. Tiptoeing around the room in the shirt, she enjoyed the freeing feeling over her bare legs. Silently, she stood in front of the mirror and grabbed each of her braids. Twisting and turning all of them in her hands, she reached up high causing her shirt to rise and her panties to show as she coiled the braids into a bun at the top of her head. Done with that, she turned and cast one last peek into the metal crib. Sleeping on her back dressed in a plain purple onesie, Larsa slept breathing deeply. Justice watched the rise and fall of her tummy and felt the memories of her fear she had for her daughter only a few days ago while being stuck on that planet. So many fears and worries had acted as fuel for Justice as she ran and fought to keep them alive. What if they were cornered by a xenomorph? What if spray back of their acidic blood made it past the carapace shield and hit Larsa on the foot or arm? Just imagining her child's painful screams made Justice's insides grow cold. No, she stepped back pulling her mind from those thoughts and old worries, they were safe now. Her stomach growled, reminding her again what she intended on doing. Leaning over the crib's wall, Justice brushed her lips lightly over Larsa's warm brow and silently stepped away. 

Going down the stairs, Justice paused near the bottom as her eyes scanned the shadowed living area and stopped on the seated figure on the floor. With only the moonlight streaming in through the high slanted windows the dark empty living space felt ghostly and dreamlike. Taking the last of the stairs, Justice stepped onto the metal floor with her bare feet.

Normally, would the thing to say would be "why are you still up?" But she knew the answer to that, didn't she? Yautja, the giant reptilian-like, crab faced creatures who roamed space looking for the ultimate hunt did not need sleep in amounts that humans required, or even cyborgs. 

With his back to her, Jarak sat on the floor cross-legged facing the window and she wondered if the beast was meditating. Knowing he knew she was there, she decided not to say anything and simply made her way to the kitchen area. Starting her food in the processor, she tried to resist the urge to stare at the hunter. By the sun and the stars, he sure was fucking huge. Earlier today as she sat with the women and talked with the excited halfling little girls, she had discreetly watched the hunter named Koga interact with them all. Like the rest of the yautja Justice had seen on Ojibwe he was nowhere near the height and width of Jarak. All of the hunters she encountered thus far seemed so different than Jarak. With his body netting, scarred armor, and annoying necklace of bones Jarak seemed so--tribal compared to the others. An observation she had brought up with the other women to which they happily provided the answer to--Jarak was not from Ojibwe, he was from Ubu.

Every minute in this place was a wealth of knowledge worth its weight in diaminium. Grabbing her ready plate from the processor and grabbing her fork, she walked cautiosly over to Jarak's side. Seeing that he made no noise or movement of protest she sat down next to him on the cool floor. Silently, they both sat there as she ate her food. Only the occasional clinks of her fork hitting the plate sounded in the still air. 

Finishing, she sat the plate to the side.

"I know you said you did this for curiosity's sake, but what happens when your curiosity runs dry? I've already told you everything and you know I cannot fight you, so…"

"Nothing will happen to you."

She wanted to argue that she already knew that, and to remind him yet again she could take care of herself. But didn't. "I guess what I mean is why are you doing all of this," she waved around them and motioned to the highchair. "You're not acting anything like I would expect you to. You're being so goddamn gentle and considerate it’s killing me."

Justice could see the exact moment his body tensed at her accusation and it felt like she was watching flesh turn to stone. The great expanse of his shoulders became mountains of hard steel covered in tough reptilian hide. His eyes which were placid and remote before burned brighter in the shadowy darkness causing them to reflect off the window ahead of them. Somehow the yautja was even more intimidating than he normally was and Justice couldn’t help but wonder how utterly shocking it would be to see Jarak truly angry.

"I am not gentle," he growled slowly and evenly as if making sure she understood the warning under every word.

She ignored it with a smile. She forgot words like gentle, kind, and soft were like curse words to the yautja. They stood for everything they were raised not to be. 

Pulling up her legs until she could lean her cheek onto her knees, she grinned as she looked up at the side of Jarak's face. "Well you certainly can be," and before he could tense up anymore, she rushed to point out. "Like with Larsa on your ship."

She felt something inside her chest warm at the memory of waking up to see Larsa contently suckling as she lay safely in Jarak's hand.

Jarak shifted slightly as if uncomfortable with the reminder. "I was careful, not gentle," he grumbled brusquely.

"And with the crib," she added with an even bigger smile, enjoying watching him squirm. "That was very considerate of you."

His fist laying on his bent knee tightened. "It was needed, nothing more."

"Mmm, ok but it makes me wonder if all yautja on Ubu are like you?" she mused.

Whipping his head towards her, Jarak let out a rumbling growl that made her adrenaline spike. His eyes blazed down at hers and she watched his fanged mouth within his mandibles move with his words. "You know nothing of Ubu," he growled menacingly. "Ubu is filled with strong and honorable warriors."

For a brief moment Justice sat there frozen in place forgetting herself. A tinge of fear had tried to creep into her heart at the sudden change in the predator sitting so close to her. But it was his words that she focused on, he said them as if he did not consider himself a part of his home-world. Ignoring her intrigue in the matter, Justice hardened her expression and stood up in place. Regret and anger swirled suddenly together in his bright sunset eyes but Justice ignored it and stepped back from him.

Grabbing her plate, she looked over his head at the wall beyond as she spoke. "I was told earlier today that you were from another planet. I meant no offense by bringing it up," she said crisply, channeling the voice she was trained to use in official capacity. "Thank you for providing for Larsa and myself, goodnight."

Rapid deep clicks of frustration echoed across the room and followed her as she took the stairs and closed her door.


	12. Chapter 12

Justice glowered at the pile of alien-apples sitting on the kitchen counter. Was this an apology? Opening her senses, she could detect no other presence in the house other than Larsa. Making a tsking noise under her breath, she stepped past the fruit and reached for the controls of the processor. Her fingers paused mid-air. Damn that hunter! He knew she liked those damn things. Snatching the apple from the counter, she stomped back over to Larsa who was sitting happily in her high chair staring out the window. Now that it was daytime, Justice had a better view of the trickling little stream that rushed past the sloping window before branching off deeper into the green jungle. It was a soothing scene to look at.

Pressing the control panel on the wall she stood back as a large black metal and leather square couch pulled out from the wall. Sitting down with one leg curled under her, Justice bit into the tart fruit and smiled at Larsa who made a happy gurgling sound.

"Good morning to you too, sweetheart."

Larsa batted at her stuffed giraffe in her hand and seemingly contemplated on tossing it down to the floor for momma to fetch, that being one of her favorite games.

Finishing her fruit and giving Larsa a few minutes to play on her tummy on the couch, Justice finally grabbed her stuff and Larsa and headed to the door. Lifting her hand towards the sensor, Justice blinked in surprise when the door suddenly slid open. Squealing with delight, Larsa raised both hands from her outward facing position in the harness and reached for her favorite yautja standing in front of her. Traitor, Justice thought.

Unfazed by their position on the other side of the door, Jarak quietly looked from Justice and down to Larsa from the opposite side of the threshold.

Justice waited, letting two whole inhalations of breath pass before she scowled at the hunter blocking the doorway. "Are you going to move?"

"Where are you going?" he replied his deep voice vibrating the air between them. 

Holding out one curled finger towards Larsa's seeking hands he allowed the baby to grab onto the side of his finger safely and tug to her delight. This only made Justice's scowl deepen.

"I'm on my way to request an audience or whatever, with Rakkah," she informed him brusquely, purposely ignoring the exchange he and Larsa were having. "I need access to just enough of the yautja database to resume my search for the remote access Weyland possesses. I don’t want my sisters to have to go another year locked in sleep if I can help it."

Jarak took a step backward and Justice felt the tinge of victory settle over her as the big yautja complied with her demands.

"There is no need to see Rakkah."

The feeling of victory died. Keeping her expression unyielding and impassive was something she was usually very good at, but now she found it nearly impossible as she felt her lips thin and her eyes narrow as she stared at the frustrating hunter.

"What do you mean I can't-"

"I have already obtained your permission." Lifting his free hand with his palm out Jarak looked pointedly to her hand, all the while Larsa did her best to vigorously shake the hunter's other meaty hand. 

Reeling over the meaning of that and still trying desperately to ignore the way Jarak allowed Larsa to move his big hand up and down as she gurgled and laughed, Justice found herself once again complying to him. Lifting her hand, she placed it in his, much like that day in his shoebox apartment. Carefully Jarak swiped his claw against her rings and activated the small computers. Taking his hand gently from Larsa's grip he accessed his data-pad on his gauntlet and typed in a few commands. Immediately her rings began to glow blue as information was downloaded.

"You will have access to all the information we have now and what my yautja brethren find out on their hunts."

Justice wanted to snatch her hand away. She wanted to punch him between those tiny eyes of his. She wanted to sneer and taunt him that he better be careful he was being all sweet and considerate again. But damn him all she did was stand there in silence as he gently lowered her hand.

"Thank you," she managed to whisper without looking at him.

Awkward silence climbed between them until finally Jarak turned. "Come," he called back without looking at her.

She didn’t even bother with arguing with him at his presumptuous order, she always ended up following anyhow. Walking with him along the metal path that snaked through the thick tangle of trees they emerged through the tree-line along the greater tract that lead to the palace. Sitting on the ground ahead of them was a large gray speeder bike.

Instantly any anger Justice had evaporated as she looked to the bike and Jarak in barely contained excitement. "Tell me you just cashed in more of your honor for a bike?!" 

Jarak gave her a chuffing growl. "That is not how it works," he moved to the bike and laid his hand on top of it. "But," he paused, still sounding a little aggrieved at her statement. "I did obtain a bike for your use."

Justice could not stop the large smile from spreading across her lips. Jarak blinked before turning away abruptly, causing his long black and red dreads to sway angrily around his shoulders and his necklace of bones to click and clack. 

"Come," he ordered gruffly. "I will teach you how to ride it."

Too excited to be bothered by his surly orders, Justice quickly shed the backpack and her rifle into a pile near the tree-line, leaving her only wearing her harness which Larsa's chubby legs and arms dangled out of. "I'm so ready," she replied, practically leaping onto the bike. 

Jarak made a grumbling noise deep in chest as he grabbed the handle and swung onto the bike behind her.

Like a wall of fire settling in behind her, Justice stiffened at the sudden close contact. Leaning in with his other arm Jarak quietly forced her to lean forward a little as his legs and arms bracketed hers. 

"It can be piloted in two ways," he began, his deep voice making her feel as if she was standing in the bowels of a giant engine room. "You can control it with your hands or with your thighs and feet."

Justice nearly gasped at the feel of his left hand grabbing her thigh for emphasis. 

Forcing her leg inward with the pressure of his scaled hand, Jarak growled in her ear. "Can you feel the controls?"

Fucking barely, she thought savagely. All she could feel was his hot hand burning through her pants. "Yeah," she bit out a little tersely. 

"Beneath your right foot is the pedal," he said, nudging her foot to where the pedal was. "This allows control of speed and your thighs for direction while leaving your hands free."

"Just in case I need to shoot any angry yautja trying to force me to fight," she laughed tightly, doing everything she could to break up the tension his body draped over hers was causing within her.

A short snarl ripped from his throat as he captured both of her hands and placed them on the handle bars with his on top which brought the bike to life beneath them. 

"I will not allow it," he decreed roughly.

Justice held her tongue and forced down the snarky comeback as the bike lifted them both in the air. Hovering in place three feet off the ground, Justice smiled before immediately frowning and shaking her head. 

"I don't think this will work Jarak," she spoke over the loud whine of the bike and turned her head to the side to look up at him. "I would not feel comfortable having Larsa at my back and there will be too much wind if I..."

Her words died in the air as Jarak reached towards the middle console on the bike and pressed a button which raised up a glass shield in front of the handles.

Justice laughed. "Ok fine, you thought of everything."

She rolled her eyes at the satisfied grunt and shifted purposely against him.

"Can we please take off these horrid bones before we go?" She asked catching his eye as she reached backward for the necklace digging into her back.

Seeing he made no move to stop her, she carefully pulled the loop of bones over his head causing some of his dreads to hit her in the face. Tossing it on the ground she sighed in relief. "Why do you even wear that thing?"

Revving the bike, Jarak tightened his thighs around hers and closed his arms tighter over hers. She felt enveloped by him as the bike began to move.

"So, my enemies can hear me coming."

~~

The days passed with a sense of comfortable routine. Each day she awoke to an empty house, Jarak already having left earlier at dawn. Ahzma had told her it was a routine with most unmated hunters and a few mated ones that they met up each morning in the palace throne room for a briefing of sorts. Hunts were briefly discussed or offered up, hunts were proposed, hunts were even bragged about with either stoic yautja boasting or ebullient roars of pride--no matter what it was, it was always about the hunt and subsequent honor said hunts would bring to the overall clan. And while Ahzma and Ember had rolled their eyes and remarked on how boring the briefings were, Justice could not agree. Those briefings sounded so similar to her own morning briefings she shared with her sisters years before. A time of strategy and seriousness normally pocked with witty remarks from her lieutenant here and there. Those meetings each morning gave their life purpose and direction. Justice would give just about anything to have them back. But those days were gone--taken from her--every bit of progress she made in her life and getting back her sisters was no longer a task set before her along with a direct order. She was the commander of her life now and it all depended on her alone. 

Well--that wasn't quite true. 

The first night after she was given access to the yautja database, Justice had meticulously planned her evening. Too much time had been wasted already due to the xenomorph invasion and her sudden new home, she needed to get back to focusing on finding information on the remote access. Playing and feeding Larsa and washing her clothes, Justice was finally able to sit down in the living room with Larsa laying tiredly at her side on the flat leather sofa. With the few extra toys Ember and Ahzma provided lying by, just in case, Justice tentatively began her research. Larsa, however, wasn't quite on board with the plan.

Justice was letting out a frustrated groan when Jarak walked in. Looking from the floating, blue holographic data suspended in the middle of the living room and back to her as she leaned tiredly over Larsa with a toy in hand, Jarak seemingly understood her plight. Walking over to the wall, he pressed his big hand onto the control pad on the wall releasing it with a muted little click.

Justice watched in a stunned frown. "I didn't know it came off!"

Jarak merely made an amused noise deep in his chest as he walked around the sectional couch, she had pulled out earlier. Holding the flat data tablet with one hand he began to unbuckle the pauldron on his shoulder. Fascinated both her and Larsa watched as he casually removed the heavy piece of armor off his shoulders and drop it onto the end of the sofa. With his chest bare now, Justice could clearly see the symmetrical red and black splotchy markings framing the sandy beige hide of his wide chest. It was kind of beautiful in a way, she realized. Naturally aggressive and more than dangerous it amazed her that nature took the time to give each yautja such unique colorings and freckle-like markings. Sitting down on the floor in his usual cross-legged fashion, Jarak's long, black and red tipped dreads moved and swayed gently with the movement. 

Justice wanted to see him fight, the thought popped up from nowhere in her head. She wanted to see his dreads--spines-- whip gracefully around as the fearsome yautja tore through his enemies. Blinking her mind focused and she realized Jarak was looking directly at her. For a moment they said nothing, only their silent breathing filled the space. Slowly the familiar cascading sound of clicking deep within his chest began and Justice smiled, while Larsa let out a cry of delight. Both her and Jarak looked to the infant who lay on her back grabbing at one of her feet. Her little curly head was turned so that she was looking directly at Jarak and her brown eyes sparkled with recognition.

"Uh oh," Justice laughed, lightening her voice just for her daughter. "Your favorite hunter is here, isn't he?"

As if answer to the question Larsa kicked her feet out into the air and batted one arm up and down, which only made Justice laugh even more. 

Thinking for a moment, Justice had an idea. "Here, let me try something. I may just be able to get some work done if this works." 

Jarak said nothing, but simply waited and watched as she picked up the cushion Larsa was laying on and carried it and the infant down to the floor. Pulling her own cushion down, Justice laid Larsa's cushion next to Jarak and situated her own seat on the floor on the other side of the baby. 

Larsa was immediately placated with the arrangement. Content to stare up at the hunter and occasionally slap his leg and tug on his body netting Larsa sat content between them as they both focused on the data before them. Using the tablet, he took from the wall as a keyboard, Jarak's hologram projected red next to hers. Side by side they sat and researched through the Weyland-Yutani info. 

It was a routine they shared every night since then and Justice could not lie to herself and say it wasn't the time of day she looked forward to the most. Everything about this planet intrigued her, from the good and the bad. Even with the hover speeder she used almost exclusively to get back and forth around the planet with Larsa strapped to her front, Justice could not shake the feeling she was being watched. There were a few theories tabulating in her head, curious hunters, predacious animals hidden within the surrounding jungle simply waiting for an opportunity, or maybe even some of the elusive female yautja that the human women spoke of as if they were unicorns. All the theories seemed possible, but as Justice recalled that day in the throne room as she stood before all the hunters, she knew it was something else entirely. But she didn’t focus on it, she would handle it whenever that problem arose, until then she focused on the good like the bright sunny weather that allowed her to turn most of the too short pants Ember gave her into shorts, perfect for the hot tropical weather. Or she could focus on the pure splendor that was Ravki.

Ember had introduced her to the quiet hunter whose lab sat deep in the bowels of the palace. He was the hunter responsible for every item used for all three of the women's children. Ember explained to her in excited detail as Ravki sat uncomfortably at his desk listening, that he could make anything any everything they may need. At first Justice merely nodded and thanked the quiet hunter for his work and followed Ember back out of his lab, no doubt to his immense relief. It wasn't until she woke up before dawn the next day with startling realization at her foolishness did, she realize just exactly what Ravki meant to her life. 

Leaving Larsa asleep in her crib and activating its monitoring program so that it would alert her to any sound or overt movements, Justice jumped with ease from the second floor, landing with silent grace on the first floor. Standing up, she ignored Jarak who stood in silent shock watching the entire display. Dashing past, him she ran outside and started her bike and took off for the palace. Within minutes she was inside of the lab standing in the doorway breathing deeply as Ravki stood from his chair looking at her in silent interest. Like most of the hunters on Ojibwe, Ravki's mandibles closed almost completely over his fanged mouth giving his silent look an even more watchful quality. It made her think of Jarak when she looked at him and how she honestly didn't like the closed mandible look. She liked Jarak's mandibles that sat wide on his face and did not meet in the middle over his mouth. Jarak's flaring mandibles made the ferocious looking hunter seem even more daunting rather than the silent thoughtfulness Ravki and even Rakkah presented. Remembering why she was there, she took one step closer to the hunter and gave him cunning smile.

As expected, it did not take long at all for Jarak to come stomping through the doorway behind her but by then her request had already been given and approved by Ravki. Turning from the hunter and back to Jarak who stood giving her a perplexed but angry glare.

"Ravki may just change the course of history, and bring back my sanity," she beamed at him and laughed at his deepening confusion. Too happy to explain she waved at Ravki and strolled past Jarak.

That night on his return, Jarak carried in a small black sack and sat it down carefully on the kitchen counter. At first, she was confused, but at Jarak's continued silence she realized it was her request to Ravki, completed much earlier than the hunter told her. Damn near snatching it out of the bag, Justice let out a rare squeal of excitement as she held the finished product--a dual breast pump. 

"Goddammit I may just kiss Ravki," she exclaimed as she examined the pump noting it had all the specifications she asked for. 

The sound of claws clacking against his gauntlet brought her attention back to him and she watched as he looked at the holographic words and visibly tensed. Stepping forward with both hands splayed at his sides, his claws glinting off the room's light, Jarak growled in warning. "You will not."

"And why exactly not?" she replied tauntingly as she sat down the breast pump onto the counter and crossed her arms.

Towering a few feet away from her, Jarak's eyes flashed dangerously and his mandibles flared. "I will not allow it."

"I might live with you, I might even be indebted to you, and regardless if I like you or not--you do not own me or have any authority over my actions Jarak," she said watching as each word seemed to hit the hunter like an electrical charge.

Feeling somehow larger Jarak let out a deep snarling sound as he stared at her with barely contained rage. "You are under my watch and I say what you will and will not do."

Anger curled within her gut. He was fucking serious she realized. Uncrossing her arms, she stepped up to the hunter and gave him a deadly look of her own. "You must have lost your fucking mind if you believe that."

Justice's senses watched and reacted filling her body with adrenaline as his eyes lost some of their normal warmth and familiarity. Like staring at a large predator in the wild his lambent gaze brightened and his tiny pupils constricted as if on the precipice of an attack. Taking two large steps forward the giant reptilian alien gave her no choice as he backed her into the wall beneath the stairs.

"Jarak," she warned hearing her own voice change as the cybernetics within her system tightened and reacted to the danger looming in front of her. She could see Jarak's eyes react as her own no doubt shined white drowning out their normal violet glow. "Step the fuck back," she demanded.

Growling in challenge, Jarak purpsoely stepped forward again placing one clawed hand against the metal wall beside her, caging her in. Instinctively her gaze went to the crib sitting in the middle of the living room before returning back with blazing intensity at the yautja before her.

"Is this what you want?" her voice enhanced by the adrenaline flooded nanites within resonated between them. "Do you want to fight me? Do you really want to call down my rifle and start shooting? Because I will Jarak. I don't know what your fucking problem is all of a sudden, but I will protect myself and Larsa even if that means fighting you to the death."

An anger so powerful seemed to sweep over the yautja's body, Justice could see him shudder under the pressure of it. Steeping back away from her it looked as if he had to force each movement. Justice watched with forced calm as her cybernetics flooded her bloodstream readying her body for a fight as Jarak visibly tried to restrain his anger. Tearing his eyes away from her he turned toward the door and let out a vicious snarl. "I need to hunt."

And without another word he stomped out the front door. 

"Fine," Justice breathed to herself feeling her body shake at the pent-up rage. Swiping an errant braid from her face she glared at the closed door. "And do me a favor and never fucking come back."


	13. Chapter 13

Getting off of her bike, Justice pulled Larsa from her harness and cast a commanding look to Ember. Obediently and a little worriedly Ember quickly stepped forward and took Larsa from her hands.

Seeing her foreboding expression, Ahzma stood up from her seat against the dead tree they all sometimes used as a bench and gave Justice a questioning look. "What's wrong?"

Looking around the small clearing in front of Koga's kennels, Justice looked from the three little girls to Koga, who was also staring at her with keen interest.

"I need to speak to Rakkah later today," she announced, her anger from last night still pumping hot through her veins. "I need to get out of the goddamn house with Jarak."

No one said anything. Only the girls who played with their pups near Koga's feet went on happily unaware of the simmering tension shared by the adults.

"What happened?" Ember questioned softly from behind her.

Unable to look at any of them, Justice began to pace. She wanted to hit something, she was so fucking mad. Last night she hardly slept, she just sat up in her bed waiting to hear if Jarak came back determined to shoot him in the head on sight.

"What happened was Jarak tried to kill me for no fucking reason," she growled. Her pride still hurt from the betrayal of it all.

Ignoring the two women's shocked gasps Justice increased her pacing. Sounds of growls and whines from the older hounds from behind their cages echoed throughout the clearing most likely agitated at her obvious tension.

"Has he harmed you or the child?" Koga's deep steady voice broke in through her thoughts and Justice stopped giving him a cold look.

"Do you really think we would be having this kind of conversation if that big bastard tried to hurt Larsa?" she spat, not waiting for him to answer. "Besides he didn’t take that kind of leave of his senses, he was just angry at me for whatever fucking reason."

Nodding, Koga dropped the squirming pup he had been holding by the back of his neck and turned to walk out of the clearing before stopping. "I will speak to Rakkah," he paused and gave her and all the women a fierce warning look before landing on all three girls. Immediately, Okaj and the twins, Noko and Nyla, froze at his look. "I will return. You are not to go near the cages under any circumstance."

Sighing Justice nodded with the rest of them knowing that the blue-eyed hunter would be satisfied with no less. "Yes, yes. No going near the hounds and no going near your killer Kurn you keep trapped in the back," she waved over to the set of black double doors sticking from the ground in the distance. It was the same promise he made her make like a child on the first day she met the serious yautja. Supposedly beyond the regular hound-like beasts he kept there were a breed of monsters even he could not control kept behind the bolted cellar doors. She kept telling herself to look up the information on these Kurn beast, everything Koga had told her about them thus far sounded fascinating, but she never had the time.

Narrowing his eyes at her, Koga finally nodded and left towards the palace.

Sensing Ember and Ahzma's need for more details, Justice raised a hand stopping any question. "Right now, I am too fucking angry. Let me take my mind off of that bastard for a few hours first."

Nodding both women gave her understanding smiles.

Relieved, Justice slapped both hands together and turned to the little girls. "Ok my little darlings," she announced, the tension easing out of her shoulders and her voice. "Let's show Koga how good you are with your pups when he returns."

Turning to the one thing she knew like the back of her hand; she began directing the girls on the commands Koga had been trying to teach them. With their pups at their sides, while their mothers watched from their seat on the tree Justice had all three toddlers repeat the basic drills.

The sun sat high in the air and sweat began to bead between her breasts as Justice watched Nyla and Okaj work through two sets of silent hand motions with the pups. 

"Good job, Okaj," she called out. "Now toss her the treat." 

Taking care not to get her tiny hands too close to the scaled hound's mouth, Okaj tossed the bit of raw meat up in the air and laughed as the fat pup happily snapped it out of the air.

Ember laughed as she sat with Larsa across her lap at the sound of the sad whines coming from the kennels. At this point the older hounds were practically beside themselves as they watched the pups get treat after treat. 

"Noko," Justice called out in gentle warning as the young girl's pup began to stray from her side. Immediately, Noko let out a diminutive like growl that probably would have made Rakkah very proud and called the pup back over.

Justice was opening her mouth to praise the girl when awareness shot up her spine. Turning in place, Justice immediately saw the tall narrow figure standing on the other side of the clearing. Narrower than any other yautja she had seen thus far on the planet, Justice's heart sped up as she took in the feminine curves of the hunter's hips and breasts. Sweet stars, a female. 

Turning her head ever so slightly, Justice nearly grinned at Ahzma and Ember's open mouth astonishment as they stared at the female yautja.

"It has been past time those whelps were properly trained," the yautja hissed, her naturally fierce voice giving every word a thread of warning.

Settling for a smirk rather than a full-blown giddy grin of her own excitement, Justice stood unmoved and unafraid of the yautja. Her rifle was sitting on the log near the women so she knew she posed no threat to the warrior and she knew instinctually that the female would not engage in any battle with the children present.

"You are more than welcome to offer any advice, hunter. I am not yautja, I am sure there is much they could learn from a female yautja that their fathers could not teach," she called out. 

The rattling clicking from the yautja filled the air and she took one step closer and stopped. "Their fathers teach them nothing," the female snarled. "They should have further progress at this age. Their fathers sired them to be breeders and that is all they will be with their lack of training."

Justice held up her hand behind her towards Ember and Ahzma whose reaction to the hunter's inciting words was audible. Thankfully both women heeded her silent command and said nothing. Stepping purposely in front of the three girls who stared at the huntress with a mixture of curiosity and a little of fear, Justice glared at the female. 

"They are toddlers and half human," she reminded the female firmly. "They will be properly trained in combat when they are older."

"That is no excuse," the yautja hissed again, taking yet another step forward. "I have seen the footage of your making. Even you were trained in the basics of combat by your age."

"More like tortured," Ember replied which only served to earn her a warning growl from the female yautja.

Shooting her own warning look at Ember over her shoulder, Justice watched Ember give her an apologetic look. Steeling herself for the possibility for a fight, Justice stepped forward again towards the huntress showing her she would not be cowed and she would not take much more of these insults. 

"These three will not grow up with breeding as their purpose and I think you know that if you knew their fathers," she challenged. "One way or another they will be trained properly, but it sure as hell would help if one of the female yautja could step the fuck up and help out. Are you not one clan? Or has yautja adopted the human mindset and only serve themselves?"

The female let out a low rumbling growl interlaced with angry clicks. Turning with a whip of her dreads the yautja turned to walk away revealing the lump at her back. All three women including Justice let out a sound of dismay.

"Wait," Justice damn near whimpered, holding out a hand in hopes to stop her. "Is that a…is that a baby yautja?" And though she asked, she knew that was exactly what was in the fabric sling around the female huntress's back.

The yautja did not stop walking.

"Wait," Justice called out again and this time the female yautja paused. Knowing this was probably her only opportunity to answer a lingering question in her mind Justice seized the chance. "I am looking for a female yautja my sisters and I met years ago. I don't know her name or if she is even from Ojibwe, but I know what she looks like. She is your height, tan and black markings, a scar over her left eye and is missing her lower right tusk. If you know of her…tell her I have a message for her."

Turning her head until Justice could see her profile, the female waited. "And the message?"

Justice smiled broadly and flipped one of her braids over her shoulder casually. "Oh, well you see that's complicated. Let's just say when she hears it, she will no doubt be very angry and try to kill me. But I am duty bound and must tell her if the opportunity presents itself."

With what Justice could swear was a deep chuckle the female hunter turned and disappeared into the jungle.

Immediately Ember and Ahzma exploded with questions. For the next hour, they all talked and laughed and lamented over the missed rare opportunity to see a baby yautja all helping to take Justice's mind off her anger and off of Jarak.

~*~  
Jarak heaved in deep breaths as he stood over his kill. The blue and purple striped skin of the Thornstep dulled from its usual iridescent glow under the dying sun. Looking up, Jarak let out a ragged growl as he stepped back and looked at the sky. He was far from home--far from Justice and her child. On the other side of the planet, he stood at the cliffs where the jungle stopped and overlooked the deep blue ocean beyond. With every breath he took, the sun dropped lower over the horizon allowing in the night, filling the sky with clashing lights as it did at this time each day. Dark purples and hues of midnight blue began to overtake the burst of orange and yellows still fighting to maintain their light. 

Looking down at his kill, Jarak noticed the traces of glowing blood in the creature's claws and looked down at his own body. Without bothering to fully investigate, Jarak found a few cuts at his flank where the creature must have clawed him back in their battle. Without weapons and without his armor, Jarak had taken his rage out on the large predatory animal hand to hand even though he did not much care for the flavor a Thornstep's flesh provided.

Reaching down to grab the dead beast by the horns, Jarak paused and tensed at the familiar presence. He did not hear a ship fly over but that was not surprising, not from Rakkah. Turning Jarak looked at his leader silently standing at the edge of the jungle staring back at him and Jarak flinched at the disapproval he saw in the older hunter's eyes. 

"Tell me Jarak, what has happened between you and the human?" Rakkah's voice was calm, but Jarak knew the hunter and knew that meant little if he was truly angered.

Thinking of his words, Jarak shook his head in primal agitation at the feeling of deep shame and turned his head not wanting to meet Rakkah's gaze. He had not felt this way in years, not since Ubu. 

"I am told she no longer wants to live in the domicile you have earned," Rakkah said and the words sliced through Jarak worse than any blow from any enemy.

The weight of his shame made him want to bow his head like he once did when he was younger. Memories of Justice's anger and worry shining in her eyes haunted him. He could recall the way she instinctually looked toward Larsa, he could see the fragment of fear appear in her gaze before being stamped out with pure anger. He did that, he caused her to feel that way. With an agitated growl he began to prowl back and forth.

"Do you wish harm to the human?" Rakkah continued relentlessly, his calm voice like spikes across Jarak's skin.

"No," Jarak bit out savagely. He would rather Rakkah just fight him than this.

"Do you wish to kill her?"

An image of his claws covered in her blood came unbidden to Jarak's mind and without thinking he let out a deafening roar. Taking a step towards Rakkah, he gave the older hunter a warning glare. He would not take much more of this.

Undaunted by his anger Rakkah stood perfectly still as he stared at Jarak and Jarak felt like a whelp once more under his leader's stare. "Then why do you fight her," Rakkah continued, "when she is unarmed and in your house?"

Jarak groaned deeply. He heard the unspoken "under your protection" clearly in Rakkah's words.

For a few minutes neither one of them said anything and Jarak looked down at the ground as he calmed himself enough to answer. "I did not want to fight her…" he began and stopped. No that was not true, he did want to fight her, but only to rile her as she had riled him. "I wanted only for her to engage me in sparring?" He admitted. He wanted her to look at him, he realized.

Rakkah said nothing for a moment. "Most human women do not appreciate fighting and I am confidant all of them do not want it done in front of their infants."

Shame filled Jarak's throat like bile. "I have brought dishonor to you, Rakkah," he said forcing himself to meet Rakkah's eyes, forcing himself to say the next words. "You should take them both away-"

"Human women can cause…unpredictability amongst some yautjas.," Rakkah's rumbling voice cut him off. "You will atone yourself to the human and she will decide her next action," he commanded and turned around and stopped, his back facing him. "Before you return, I want you to ask yourself this, Jarak. If you do not wish to fight her in battle, what do you want from the human?"

~

Sitting on top of her bed Justice sat with her legs crossed as she slowly undid her braids. With the tablet pulled from the wall's controls, just as Jarak had showed her previously, sitting in the space between her legs she stared up at the red holographic image of data floating ahead of her. Full, changed, and happy, Larsa lay to her right in her crib. Lowering one of the side panels of the crib, Justice had found she could pull the crib flush up against the bed allowing her to reach out to her daughter at any time and still have her safely within her own bed. When she got back to Jarak's home earlier that evening she was surprised and if she was honest with herself a little disappointed to find him still gone. All day she had imagined just exactly she was going to say to the big bastard when she saw him again, but the empty silence was all that greeted her. Bastard! Anger and betrayal still pumped through her veins when she thought of that moment.

Her pride flared at the memory of being backed into the wall. If she had her suit, if she was at her full capabilities, she would have never allowed it, she tried to reason. Though Justice knew that wasn't the full truth of it. Grimacing she looked away from the hovering Weyland-Yutani information and stared angrily at the wall while her fingers worked even quicker through her hair. She could have stopped it last night even without her suit; the problem was she had trusted him. From the moment she woke up in his arms that night on his ship with him holding Larsa to her breast, she had begun to trust the big quiet bastard; and seeing his sudden inhuman anger towards her wasn't just startling--it hurt. 

Grabbing the last braid her hands paused at the tight feeling in her chest. Fucking hell, why was she feeling this way about that overgrown crab-man?! Pulling together her nerve, she sat up straighter and looked back at the data before her.

The screen on her tablet flashed blue, catching her attention. Looking down, she could see Jarak's face on the screen. He was standing on the other side of her room door. A brief moment of hesitation captured her as she stared at his waiting face. As if sensing her through the camera, his eyes looked up and she felt the tight feeling in her chest intensify. Quickly, she pressed the accept button and her door slid open. 

With bare clawed feet Jarak stepped silently in the room, his eyes finding hers immediately before landing on Larsa who was sleeping comfortably on her side with her fat cheek smooshed into the cushion beneath her.

Taking him in from head to toe, Justice noted the dry streaks of phosphorescent green blood along a few gashes on his flank. Speckled across his chest and legs were other splashes of much darker residue which she also assumed was blood from his hunt.

"Good hunting?" she asked caustically as she undid her last braid. 

Jarak made a deep noise in his chest as he looked away. For a moment she thought they might go on like that, him avoiding her gaze and her staring daggers at him, for longer until he pulled a familiar mesh sack from his belt of armor and sat it on the edge of the bed.

Justice narrowed her gaze at the familiar round shapes in the bag and glared back at Jarak. 

"You can’t just threaten me and then give me apples and think we're cool," she informed him in a harsh whisper.

His dark sunset gaze stared at her for a few moments before he looked down and raised his arm. Flipping out the screen on his gauntlet, she watched as his thick claws clacked against the screen. Justice had to bite back and smirk as she watched his big shoulders drop a little in dismay at the definition of the human term.

Stepping forward once more, he moved closer to her bed until he stood beside it staring down at her. "I want to prove atonement," he announced, his deep voice even lower as he too considered the sleeping child. "But you are not yautja, I cannot thrust myself into a fearsome battle with little odds on my behalf to show you my worth and to obtain your approval."

Justice didn’t say anything to that, because he was right, that kind of display would do nothing to make her forgive him.

Seeing that she intended to say nothing Jarak eyes flashed in desperation while his mandibles flexed in frustration. Turning his head, he looked around and let his gaze rest on Larsa for a moment before coming back to her with renewed determination. "I do not know what humans want…but I know what you want," he growled evenly. Lifting his arm once more he typed something into his gauntlet. Casting a new image into the air Justice squinted at the paragraph of yautja and human data. "It is little, but I…" he began hesitantly.

"Jarak!" she gasped, cutting him off as she stood up on the bed on her knees to get closer to the information. Rereading it again, using a finger to trace the lines of text carefully. "How did you…" her words drifted off midsentence as she impatiently scrolled the text up to read it to the end. "Why is Luke's name coming up so recently? He has been dead for over a year now."

Her thoughts were racing as she considered what this could mean and different ways, she could begin searching with it.

Jarak nodded and she did not miss the glimmer of hope in the hunter's eyes as he rotated the data. "Someone else may be using his info, trying to find you."

"Piece of shit," she muttered. "Hell, at this rate it may be better if they try and find me, then I could just torture the information out of them or something," she sighed. This time the silence between them did not hold the same tension. "Thank you, but I am still angry with you. You are too big and mean to get angry at me at the drop of a hat like that, how am I…" she began to laugh as Jarak lifted his arm again and began to look up her words. Holding out a hand to stop him, she shook her head as she tried to suppress her laughter. "It means at a moment's notice or instantly," she clarified.

Jarak nodded and lowered his arm. 

Letting the smile on her lips fade she gave him a serious look. "How can I trust you won't just want to randomly fight me again? You honestly scared the hell out of me!" she made a gesture towards the door knowing he knew she was referring to the moment he backed her into the wall. "For a very brief moment, I really thought I was going to have to shoot you, Jarak. And how the hell was I going to explain that to a planet full of yautja that I killed their favorite warrior?"

Jarak flexed his hands at his side and watched him consider his next words. "It was not random," he finally admitted.

She frowned at that. "Ok…then what was it?"

"I did not like what you said," he replied deeply, his eyes brighter than what they were before.

"Said about what?" she countered and then paused. Thinking of that night she tilted her head and gave him a puzzling look. "About Ravki? About me kissing Ravki?"

He did not reply, but he did not have to she could see the flare of anger at even the mention of it and could hear the primal clicks beginning within his wide chest; and for the first time she had no idea what to say. The tight feeling that had lingered in her chest all day bloomed and changed into something else that made her feel equally off balance. 

"I thought…I thought you hated humans," she whispered even lower. "And you were only curious about me in regards to fighting me?"

"I do want to fight you," he answered truthfully and Justice couldn’t help but shake her head with a smile at that. "I am still curious about you," Jarak continued, the ridge of his brow bone lowering in angry confusion as he struggled with putting his emotions into her words. "I do not want to cause you harm." 

Justice had a million questions, but as she looked at him hearing the agitated clicking increasing deep within his chest and echoing out of his throat, she knew she couldn’t fire them all at him. Was he perhaps jealous? The idea seemed so ludicrous. Jarak did not look at her in that way, she reasoned. Maybe it wasn't something as intense as jealousy per se. Yeah, that made sense, right? Jarak, for the most part, was kind of a surface level dude anyways, maybe it was just simple possessiveness. Maybe in his mind, she was his human and he had no intentions of sharing. He was given the task to watch her and dammit he was. The more Justice thought of this theory the more she warmed up to the idea. 

Looking at Jarak she couldn’t stop the tender smile that tugged at the corner of her mouth. The big meathead was so damn conniving and thoughtful at times and downright simple at others.

"Do you maybe feel a little possessive towards me?" she offered tentatively.

With a jerky nod, as if considering the word Jarak answered his voice so low it felt like thunder in the distance. "Yes." 

Feeling a little better knowing she guessed correctly she relaxed and shook her head. "Oh Jarak," she sighed, putting her chin in her hand and propping her elbow on her knee. "I am not someone to be possessive over. I am a complete failure of a captain and sorry excuse for a sister. I was an idiot to trust Luke so quickly and completely, and I could have gotten my own child killed back on LV594," she waved a hand towards Larsa's sleeping form. "And to top it all off, I am still not any closer to finding out the info on that fucking remote access," she let out a brittle laugh that threatened to turn into tears. "My failures are stacking up against me, Jarak," she confessed. "I'm just the human you were given to watch, trust me, I'm not worth being possessive over."

For a moment in the subsequent silence, she feared Jarak wouldn’t say anything and she couldn’t be sure if she could take that or not. Unintentionally, she just bared her soul to the yautja and she wasn't quite sure if she could bear him just nodding in agreement and walking away. She wasn't necessarily intentionally looking for comfort, but dammit she kind of wanted some now.

Surprising her Jarak turned and sat on the end of the bed and looked at the opposite wall and stared off. "I am considered unworthy on my home planet."

The words left her completely bereft for a moment, making her question if he truly even said them. Assuming she wasn't losing her mind, she leaned forward and asked. "On Ubu?"

Jarak nodded. "Yes," he answered and she could see both of his hands tighten on his thighs as he sat very straight and still at the edge of the bed. "I was made an outcast at a young age when my mother was challenged and killed for her position as leader in our clan. I was shunned and forced away from the clan to live in the outlands and forest," he explained staring at a fixed point on the far wall. "I taught myself how to hunt. I watched in secret other yautja mothers in other clans as they taught their offspring the ways of survival. When I became of age, I planned to challenge the current leader of our clan…I was instead made the target of a clan hunt. Blooded and unblooded yautja hunted me through the outlands--I killed many of my own."

Justice could hear the rare note of pain and regret in the big hunter's voice and it gutted her. "Because you were forced to Jarak!" she reminded him with all the vehemence she could stuff within her whispered tone.

As if he did not hear her, Jarak continued. "I was hunted once more weeks later. Rakkah tracked me to my place of rest, but did not engage me in battle instead he offered for me a place amongst Ojibwe, a planet of yautja united under only his leadership."

There was so much to say. So much she wanted to rage about in that story, but more than anything she wanted to reach out and lay a hand on his stiff shoulders in a gesture of pitying comfort she knew the yautja would not appreciate, so she kept her hands to herself and asked instead. "But…the other women made it seem as if you think very highly of Ubu. Surely, you cannot like that planet of assholes that would kick a child out of the clan?!"

He was quiet for a moment before looking at her. "I would not go back to Ubu nor fight for them, but I will hold some pride for it in honor of my mother."

Damn he got her there, because all she wanted to do was obtain the coordinates of this Ubu shit-hole planet and shove it into the nearest sun.

Getting up from the middle of the bed, she walked over to where he sat at the edge. Silently he watched her. Even sitting on the bed, he was still very tall, but she was able to look down at his eyes. Unable to resist the persistent urge that evolved within her from his story, Justice cupped the side of his face. 

Her heart thundered at the contact and she immediately questioned her sanity, but she did not back down. The surprise in Jarak's deep inset eyes nearly took her hand away. It was only the minute shift of his head into her touch stayed her hand. With a blink, the surprise in his bright luminous eyes changed into something--carnal. Justice tried to ignore it, she tried to press on with what she planned to say, but she felt hypnotized. She began to notice everything about their position at once. Standing between the open gap of his thighs, she could feel the heat radiate around her. She could see out of the corner of her eye the way his hands flexed again and again at his thighs as if he was constantly resisting the urge to grab her. She should be the one in control in this position, but Justice was quickly learning she wasn't. Like a rabbit heedlessly hopping about within a wolf's den she was in a very precarious position. 

So why wasn't she saying something glib or backing away?! With her hand slightly caressing the concaved curve of his mandible she just stood there so unlike herself.

"Do you really want to make it up to me?" she asked, her voice a strained whisper.

"Yes," he growled so deeply Justice felt her legs threaten to go weak.

"Then be my ally," she said softly. "Be someone I can trust, Jarak. Let me feel safe sleeping under your roof. Give me the comfort of knowing you stand at my back and by my side as a friend and not as a potential enemy."

Without moving away from her touch, Jarak stood allowing her hand to trail down his neck and firm chest before she pulled it back. Stepping back, she looked up at him and watched as he balled his right hand into a large fist and held it diagonally pressed against his chest and bowed slightly. It was gesture she had seen the yautja do to Rakkah and she knew it was a solemn meaningful gesture.

Nodding she watched him step away, giving her one last look before leaving her alone in her room.


	14. Chapter 14

Taking a gasping breath, Justice sat up in the bed. With wide wild eyes she looked over to the crib, her ocular enhancements easily ripping through the darkness of the room until her gaze settled on Larsa's sleeping form. A relief so great flooded through her chest, Justice nearly let out a tiny moan of pain. The dream had been so real. An image of Luke's cruel smile played in her mind like a fading echo. He had somehow snatched Larsa from her, he had threatened Justice for her sister's whereabouts while holding and hurting Larsa. Her child's screams her mind had conjured were agonizingly real. Unable to sit still any longer Justice got up from the bed and quietly left the room. 

Her bare feet didn't make a sound as she took the floating staircase down to the darkened living room. Stopping in the great empty space, Justice looked out the window at the rain sliding down the sloping glass. Leaves on the trees outside the window bounced in continuous rhythm under the falling rain. Walking closer Justice leaned her head against the cool glass and looked down at the stream below entranced how the steady rain pitted and rippled the water's surface. 

The atmosphere of the room around her changed and she knew without looking she was no longer alone. Looking up at the reflection in the glass she felt some of her lingering anxiety fade as she caught the pair of sun-bright eyes glowing within the darkness. Turning around she looked at Jarak and a different sort of anxiety began to fill her chest. 

Standing at the bottom of the stairs facing her Jarak wore nothing but a criminally small loincloth. Justice's lips felt suddenly dry. Eight feet of rock-solid muscle, Jarak stood there practically naked.

Stepping closer to her, Jarak lifted one clawed hand and gestured towards her. "I can hear your heartrate. I know something worries you."

The only thing worrying her now was the fear she may accidently see his no doubt giant dick, she thought in a panic as he took yet another step closer, her eyes mutinously traveling to his muscular thighs.

"I…" she paused licking her lips and doing her best to maintain focus on his eyes and not let her eyes drift downward. "I had a nightmare," she explained, feeling instantly like a child. "It was seeing Luke's name I think…it made me think of him. Of him hurting Larsa for my sisters' location. But he's dead and I'm just worrying for nothing," she forced out a dry laugh as she stepped towards him.

She was acutely aware she was only wearing panties and a t-shirt. Underneath her shirt, her nipples felt stiff and tender as they slid back and forth across the fabric with each movement.

With a silent turn of his head, Jarak tracked her as she carefully skirted him and made for the stairs.

Justice wanted to turn and snipe at him for staring at her so intently. With every second his primal gaze lingered on her like this in this shadowy quiet room, her pulse increased. It was that damn loincloth; it was not helping the matter whatsoever. Starting up the stairs, she had every intention of calling out a hasty goodnight at her door before closing it promptly behind her.

"Justice," the deep growl of her name stopped her in place. Had he ever called her by her name before? She wasn't sure. 

Turning on the stairs, she looked down at him. 

Looking up at her, Jarak eyes narrowed. "Do you still fear me?"

If this was later in the day when she wasn't feeling so exposed and self-conscious of the big beast in front of her, she would have argued him on that point, but she was too affected by the quiet intimacy surrounding them and could not bring herself to respond with her usual wit. 

"No," she replied softly.

Moonlight from the large slanted windows shined across Jarak's body as he moved a step closer to the stairs and Justice could clearly see the rippling stack of his tightly packed abominable muscles. 

"Then why does your heartrate continue to increase in my presence?"

Stunned by his boldness Justice mentally sputtered for the right words. Toying with the idea to simply leave him standing there without an answer Justice turned around with her back to him. 

"I'll let you know just as soon as you tell me why yours does the same," not waiting for his reply she went back into her room and shut the door hearing the growl from below fade behind her.

~~

Grinning evilly, Justice watched Jarak as he descended the stairs and stopped abruptly at the sight she made. With her top off she sat on one of the heavy metal stools in the kitchen as the breast pump whirred and hummed as it expressed her milk. Blinking Jarak averted his gaze from her and began walking towards the door.

"Do you have to go to the palace today?" she asked, hoping his answer was no.

Stopping, Jarak turned around and looked directly at her in silent inquiry, his eyes never dropping below her neckline. Justice contained a victorious laugh and continued on with what she had been waiting to tell him since she got up earlier. 

"Well, if you don't have to then we can focus on the emergency situation I discovered this morning," she said, feigning horror in her voice. "I am out of fish."

Nodding, Jarak changed course and headed down the hallway near the door that led to the storage room. Justice waited in her seat and listened to the sound of heavy items being moved before Jarak reappeared carrying two yautjan spears. Excitement lit up her face.

"Does this mean we are going to catch our own?" she asked staring at the spears he laid down on the far end of the counter.

Again, Jarak nodded as he stood on the other side of the counter. "All meat must be hunted for ourselves. Human vegetative foods are sourced from the greenhouses Ravki built for the other humans and automatically sent to our food processors. 

God, she loved Ravki, she thought, but wisely kept the thought to herself.

Larsa let out a squeal as she slapped her arms against the surface of her highchair. Demandingly the baby gave a wide-eyed pouty look to the giant hunter and reached both hands out to him. Reaching across the counter, Jarak answered her commands and held out one hand in front of Larsa to which she promptly grabbed began pulling towards her mouth. Laughing Justice quickly halted the progress. As Larsa frowned and tried even harder to pull the hunter's hand closer, Justice grabbed a towel she had used earlier with safe disinfectant still damp on it. 

Wiping down Jarak's large hand she gave him a deadpan look. "I have no idea what's on those spears, better safe than sorry." Done with cleaning it, she released his hand and looked to Larsa. "Have at him."

Promptly Larsa pulled Jarak's knuckle to her mouth and began to gum and slobber at the tough skin. This time Justice did not contain her laughter as Jarak stared down disconcertingly at his captured finger. Unplugging herself from the pump, she walked around the yautja until his back was to hers and quickly took off the bandeau top that held the pumps and slipped on her shirt. Storing the bottles of milk in the fridge, she walked back around and stood next to Jarak. 

"Let's get fishing."

~

"Why do I have to ride in the back?" she grumbled while holding up a hand to shield her eyes from the bright sun as she looked up at Jarak.

With his back to the sun, Jarak retracted each of the long spears with a snap before storing them on the back of the speeder. "Do you know the way?" he countered simply.

Justice bit back a retort and stood back from the bike expectantly. Satisfaction lit Jarak eyes as he stepped forward and swung onto the bike and grabbed his faceplate that hung from his belt and held it aloft with one hand before turning it to place it onto his face. With his mask, though a bit different from the first one she had seen the hunter wear back on LV549, Jarak looked even more foreboding. Eyeing him, sitting on top of the speeder silently waiting for her, she pursed her lips in a frown. Unaccustomed to not being in control, Justice reluctantly slid onto the seat behind the hunter. 

Feeling the bike power to life and her feet leave the ground Justice instinctively reached out and grasped at the netting at Jarak's firm flanks. Giving one last look in the direction of Ember's pyramid house where Larsa was no doubt being spoiled and cuddled to death, Justice turned and looked ahead as Jarak revved the speeder forward. 

Clutching tighter at his sides, Justice let out a little laugh of excitement as he sped them down through the center of Ojibwe before veering off to the left past Koga's kennels and into the thick jungle. Taking what looked to be an old trail, Jarak somehow zipped the big speeder through the overgrown path completley unaffected by the limbs and branches that whipped at him as he passed. Sitting perfectly behind his broad back and shoulders, Justice was unscathed in their journey, the swipes of the passing branches hitting Jarak like a shield. Grateful now that she didn’t insist on driving, Justice relaxed into Jarak's back and wrapped her arms around his narrow waist until they met at his stomach. 

From her position on the speeder Justice could watch as the alien forest whizzed by her. Sounds of tropical birds chorused over their heads and around them. Small gangly shapes of primates jumped from tree to tree seemingly following them along with curious calls and hoots. Lying her cheek against the hunter's netted back, Justice relaxed even more. With each adjustment and turn of the speeder, Justice could feel Jarak's powerful muscles ripple throughout his back.

Eventually she felt the bike slowing down, and Justice reluctantly pulled herself from Jarak's back and looked up and over his shoulder, her eyes going wide. 

"Holy fuck," she whispered in awe.

Breaking through the trees they stopped at the sound of rushing water. The thick overgrown jungle floor at this point transitioned into rock. On the other side of the rocky clearing where the jungle resumed once again, a river speared through the verdant jungle pouring out onto the rugged clearing. The rocky craterous surface guided the small jungle river to break off into many directions, each segment pouring into multiple pools of overlapping bodies of water. 

Feeling the speeder bike lower to the ground, Justice took this as her cue and slipped off the bike first. Palming his face plate off of his face, Jarak tossed it onto the seat of his bike and grabbed the shortened spears from the bike.

"Should I take off my boots?" she asked seeing that Jarak wore none of his usual yautja foot coverings.

Small beady pupils set within bright auroras trailed her body taking her in inch by inch as he considered the question which only made Justice acutely aware of her choice of clothes that day. Wearing one of the small tank tops Ember had given her and a pair of the pants she had turned into shorts, her bare arms and long legs glistened under the bright sun. 

Jarak made a deep growl of agreement in his chest. Nodding, she lifted each boot onto the back of the speeder and untied the laces and removed her socks and placed them beside his discarded mask. 

Walking carefully across the slick rocks, she followed Jarak towards the end of the clearing where the water rushed faster and disappeared over the edge. A sound of delight escaped her throat as she realized what he was showing her. Moving closer the edge on a higher slab of rock, Justice stared down at the large rushing river below. Nearly four-hundred feet high the white rushing water from the jungle flowed across the rock pools and cascaded into the cerulean waters below.

"This is beautiful," she called out to Jarak over the rush of water. 

Saying nothing the hunter simply stared back at her before eventually turning around and heading back towards the mouth of the river. 

Stopping next to a deep pool of sparkling water, Jarak tossed her a spear which she caught with one hand. Pulling the black material that hung from his belt he tossed that to her as well. It was a black leather sack.

"Now we hunt," he informed her.

Grinning Justice twirled the short spear in her hand before activating the switch, making it extend out with a quiet pop from both ends. "Care to make this a challenge?"

Excitement glittered in his eyes and Justice laughed. "All right then, we'll keep it simple. Whoever catches the most wins?"

Giving her a firm nod, Jarak extended his own spear with an audible click and went to the far side of the pool of water. 

Holding her spear over her shoulder, with the sharp point aimed at the water she gave him a grin. 

~

Picking up the last rainbow-colored fish, Justice let her head fall back in a defeated groan.

Standing at her side with his arms crossed over his chest Jarak rumbled in deep satisfaction. "I am the victor."

Snapping back up, Justice glowered at him. "No one likes a bragger," she spat.

"Words only the defeated would say," his deep tone only added to the burn of the dry quip. 

With her mouth agape in shock, Justice reached back into her bag and took ahold of the slippery dead fish and threw it at Jarak.

Unmoving, Jarak allowed the fish to hit him square in the chest watching it as it flopped wetly to the ground. Following his gaze back up their eyes met and Justice felt her stomach drop a little as she watched something pass over his gaze. Holding his spear out to his side, Jarak opened his clawed hand and let it fall to the ground with a clank.

"Jarak?" Justice said questioningly holding her spear defensively out in front of her as she watched his hand go to his pauldron at his shoulder. 

Flicking his fingers deftly across the buckles, the pauldron loosened and slipped off his shoulders to fall on the wet rock. 

Worried and excited at the same time, Justice's eyes went wide as he his hand moved to the latch on his skirt armor. 

By the stars, what was he doing?!

Standing in front of her wearing nothing but that cursed black leather loin cloth, Jarak gave her a warning look as he took one step forward.

"Jarak?!" now the question in her voice had a sense of alarm to it and she gripped her spear tighter and took one step backward. 

Again, he approached and again she retreated. 

There was something about the way his orangish red eyes glimmered with unholy eagerness that told her the big beast was still being playful she just didn't exactly know how. 

When the back of her foot slipped against a rocky edge, Justice tensed and suddenly knew what he planned. Not even sparing a look behind her to the very deep pool of water she and Jarak had avoided earlier that day during their fishing, she scowled at the hunter. 

"Don't you even--" 

It was too late. With three lunging steps that ate up the distance between them far too fast for her bare feet to gain purchase on the slippery ground, Justice's angry words were lost in a scream as Jarak grabbed the spear she held between them and pushed her into the water followed by his weight. 

Beneath the turquoise water's surface, they sank deep and rolled together in their playful struggle. Pulling the spear from her hands, his other hand found her waist and Justice could feel the gentle pressure of his five claws press into the exposed skin at her waist. With the help of his hand guiding her and pushing her to the surface, Justice let out a little gasp for air and turned to Jarak. Water sluiced off his wet dread-like spines causing the black tubular pile to glisten in the sun. Catching her gaze his mandibles flexed and Justice could feel her chest tighten with some unnamed emotion. 

Turning around, she grabbed onto the ledge of the rock pool and pushed herself up. Turning around she sat on the edge of the pool and watched as Jarak hauled himself out of the water as well. Justice tried in vain not to watch as his thick triceps flex beneath his skin at the movement. Sitting beside her on the rocky edge they sat in comfortable silence letting the sun dry them both as their legs hung in the water.

Bracing her hands behind her, Justice let her head hang back between her shoulder blades and closed her eyes. Damn, it felt good just to relax for a moment. 

With her eyes closed she listened to the sounds of the jungle around her. "This makes me miss my woolly woolies," she admitted.

Feeling Jarak's silent question beside her she turned her head and cracked open one eye and smiled at his waiting gaze. "If you recall I specialize in the study of predacious species. Well, when I applied to live on LV549 I applied for their native species study program and since the planet no longer had any real predatory animal, I was assigned to the mammuthus primigenius lab--basically wooly mammoths. And oh, how I loved them," she said with a laugh as she looked up at the bright blue sky watching the puffy white clouds slowly float by. "I never thought I would but with time I earned their trust and even Larsa got used to their presence. But now…" her voice trailed off and she sat up straight and looked down at her legs through the glistening turquoise water. "They are most likely dying from starvation or eaten by those fucking aliens."

Jarak said nothing but Justice could feel the silent understanding radiate off the yautja and it made her smile. Pulling her legs from the water, she turned a little until she was facing him, her knees bent and her feet flat on the smooth rock facing him. Bracing her hands behind her back again she lolled her head to the side and gave him a speculative smile. 

"Did you ever have a pet?"

His gaze met hers as he answered. "No."

"Really? Not even a hound like the ones Koga keeps?" she asked thinking of the specially bred yautja hound. Ever since she had seen the weird slobbery beasts, she had wondered just exactly how the yautja scientist had bred the creatures. Like the yautja, the hounds had dangling dreadlock-like spines on the back of their head that swayed with their movements.

"No," he answered. "Hunting with hounds take years of training and patience I do not possess."

Justice nodded. Yeah, she was getting firsthand knowledge of that just working with the girls and their overly playful pups.

Standing up, Justice began to squeeze out the water from her braids as she purposefully ignored Jarak standing up beside her only in his loincloth. 

"You know," she began in a haughty voice as she squeezed out the last of the water in her braids. "You shouldn't get a woman's hair wet."

Hearing the blessed snaps of his armor being clasped again, Justice turned to see Jarak standing only in his belted skirt armor while holding his discarded pauldron in one hand and the sacks of fish in the other. He tilted his head to the side and looked at her and his tusked mandibles flared in and out arrogantly. "I am the victor. The victor can do what he pleases."

Letting her braids fall from her grip, she slowly put her hands on her hips and gave him a lethal smile. "Oh, is that so?"

Making a deep growling noise of agreement in his chest, Jarak took a step forward closing some of the distance between them with an obvious challenge.

Taking her own step towards the towering yautja Justice let her smile turn poisonously sweet at she met his eager glittering gaze. Taking yet another step closer, Justice placed her hands flat on his abs and felt the hard muscles beneath her fingers tense. "Then let's make this a real challenge."

~  
Over the next few days, they competed with each other in everything from spear and discuss throwing, swimming, and archery.

Walking in the front door, Justice kissed Larsa on the temple as the baby played with a toy Ember had given her earlier that day in her hands. Turning around Justice watched as Jarak angrily stomped in behind her carrying the bows they had used that morning. Turning down the hall that led to his storage room, he went to store away the bows.

"Once you are done, the victor would like for you to come into the living room," she called out happily.

Hearing a low-pitched grumble vibrating through the air Justice chuckled silently. Having landed the final shot perfectly in the target, Justice had listened with palpable pleasure as the yautja warrior roared in anger. Nearly on the other side of the planet the beautiful lush grassy glade shook at his displeasure.

Standing in the middle of the room bouncing Larsa, watching the baby's brown eyes light up with familiarity as she stared back at her, Justice caught Jarak's surly gaze as he made his way back into the room at her command. Pride flared back at her in fiery gaze which only made Justice beam at him. Placing her hand on his chest, she felt as well as heard the deep rolling clicks vibrate up his diaphragm and up his sternum. With little to no strength she pushed the yautja and felt something in her chest soar when he easily complied with her demand and backed up until the couch was just behind him. Sliding her hand from his chest and over the rise of his pectoral muscles they both watched as her hand stopped to rest on the curve of his shoulder. Gently she pressed down, urging him to sit. 

Seated now, the hunter looked up at her; the angry pride having dissipated from his gaze he stared at her now with mild curiosity. 

Bending at the knees, so not to tip Larsa in her arms, Justice grabbed Jarak's wrist and pulled his heavy arm outward. "Hold it just like this," she commanded. "Don’t let it move."

Ensuring that his arm was locked in place, Justice grinned as she readjusted the baby in her arms and held her out with both hands. Slow realization dawned over the hunter as he watched with visibly growing tension as she placed Larsa against him. With her diaper padded butt resting on his extended forearm, she let the baby lean against his bare chest and stepped back.

Justice couldn’t suppress the laugh as both baby and yautja stared at one another in bewilderment. Shifting against his stiff posture Larsa's brow began to wrinkle in a tell-tale sign of unhappiness.

Jarak let out a rumbling growl as he looked to Justice in silent demand. Laughing she stepped closer until she stood between his legs and lowered herself to his knee. The clicking in his chest increased and she could feel his responding growl vibrate through her own chest.

"Relax," she said in a low soothing voice as she reached for Larsa's back and her other hand for his shoulder. Rubbing the baby's back she met Jarak gaze again and repeated. "Relax."

Little by little the tension in his form relaxed as she made small circular motions on his shoulder. Just as she predicted the little wrinkles from Larsa's brow smoothed out and the little girl began to look up at Jarak in interest. Slowly Jarak tore his gaze away from her and looked down at the infant laying against his chest. Justice nearly let out a tiny squeal, but quickly checked herself. Somehow this was way cuter than she imagined it was going to be. Committing every frame of the scene to memory she watched as Larsa began to interact with her favorite yautja. Without hestitation her chubby hand reached for one his black dreads, fervently pulling the red tipped end towards her waiting mouth.

Already planning for this Justice caught the baby and pulled the disinfectant wipe from her pocket. Wiping down the spine in the baby's hand and few more in grabbing distance she cleaned the rubbery-like appendages before giving it back to the girl who promptly placed it in her mouth. 

Looking to Jarak she read his gaze and shrugged. "What?" she asked. "Once you have your own kid, you'll see that half of your time is just policing the stuff they put in their mouths."

"My mate will do those things," he declared knowingly.

"Oh really," she gave him a wry look as she placed a hand on his chest and gave him a little push.

Complying yet again to her silent demands Jarak leaned back into the cushion behind him reclining himself and Larsa. Perfectly content Larsa kept her grip on the dread, her gums enjoying the rubbery feel in her mouth and closed her eyes as she lay against his chest. Shifting on his thigh, Justice followed the hunter's body and leaned against his chest as well, highly aware of the sudden pressure of his other arm coming around her hip. Tucked under his mandibles Justice felt hidden from sight, but surrounded all at the same time. For some reason it reminded her of the deep, metal storage containers her and Bex used to hide in from the doctors as kids; that enclosed protected feeling only a small space could provide a kid. 

"Why aren’t you mated?" she put voice to the question that had lingered in the back of her mind for a while now.

With her ear pressed against the heat of his warm chest the rapid staccato of clicks felt almost unreal. It was moments like these that reminded her over and over again this hunter--this beast, was not human. So why did her mind keep choosing to forget that? Turning deeper into his chest, she brought up both of her legs to hook over his other until he cradled both her and Larsa.

Eventually he spoke. "Yautja mating is not what you see with the human women."

Well, yeah. Was what she wanted to say but refrained as she felt his fingers begin to toy with one of her braids at her back. Relaxing a little more against him, Justice waited. 

Deeply he said, "Mating is about dominance. It is proving to your mate that you are worthy and you will sire the best."

"And are you not worthy of that?" she asked, thinking of the female yautja her and the other women had seen that time. Although she did find it hard to imagine the big hunter that was currently cradling her and daughter with one of the deadly yautja females. But it wouldn’t be too far-off scope, right? Jarak was certainly at the top of the food chain here on Ojibwe, surely some female yautja would see him as a viable sire. Or maybe Justice just found it hard to imagine it because just thinking of Jarak mating with some yautja female made her want to shoot something. Definitely something she was going to have to self-evaluate later, she thought dryly.

"I have proved my worth," he informed her, his naturally aggressive voice making the statement sound more like a proclamation. "And I do not lack interest from females."

Why did she want to hit him suddenly? Why was this unnamed emotion that has been filling her chest for days now swelling to the point of pain?

The light grip on the back of her neck made her tense and the anger that had sparked up within her threatened to ignite. Gently, the giant clawed hand began to work at her stiff muscles. 

"But I have no interest," he said finally.

Anger and relief pulled at her mind in two different directions, Justice wasn't sure if she wanted to let out a sigh or a bitter laugh. He better be damn uninterested, she thought savagely. Until she was able to free her sisters the big bastard was stuck with her!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is taking me so long guys. I have been down lately. My latest book "A Love So Wrong" has gotten crappy reviews. Yes, I know I shouldn't care but darn it I love writing and thinking up random stories and it hurts to hear people shit on them. Anyways that's why I haven't been super fast with my updates. Hope you like it, please feel free to comment. This is the only side of the internet that doesn't think I'm trash. lol


	15. Chapter 15

Jarak listened only partially to the young hunter standing before the throne as he recounted his successful hunt. Not for the first time as of late, his mind was not on the hunt but focused on a particular human. Standing off to the side of the throne, near the far wall, Jarak stood next to Akur and his cousin Tyrn while his thoughts lingered back to last night. They had stayed like that on the couch silently talking for some time until Larsa grew discontent with hunger. He had watched Justice as she carefully extracted the fat child from his chest and he caught her lingering gaze before she turned and walked up the stairs. Violet and bright, her eyes felt like hot stones of the Alercian burning moon pressed against his skin. For an hour after she had gone, he had sat there lost in his thoughts trying to understand why this human made his blood rush.

With a wordless nod of his head from his throne, Rakkah dismissed the hunter and his eyes flicked to the next yautja in the assembly of hunters. The smell of blood pulled Jarak from his confounding thoughts and he as well as all the other hunters in the room watched as Atli stepped forward to the dais with a noticeable limp. Deep gashes scored his body, across his back and torso. Blood poured from the open wound on his head, pouring down and covering one of his eyes. Jarak blinked in shock as the hunter stopped at the dais and Jarak could see the missing patch of spines from the back of his head.

Rakkah's face remained impassive as he stared down at the injured hunter. "Were you successful?"

With a rattling growl that sounded to Jarak as if the hunter suffered a punctured lung, the wounded hunter let out a victorious roar.

"Then may your new mate, Kavia bear healthy warriors for all of Ojibwe's future," Rakkah announced.

Grunts and low rumblings of the yautjan language filled the hall as Atli accepted gruff acknowledgements from his fellow bretheren, some even going so far to as to slap the wounded hunter on the back, enjoying his pained snarls in response.

Jarak could only watch the hunter with deep disconcertion. 

With his arms folded over his chest, Akur stood next to Jarak looking at Atli as well. "Moments like these remind me I would have been ill suited for a yautja mating."

"Mating is not to be enjoyed," Jarak tensed before replying tersely, repeating the phrase every yautja had learned while coming to maturity.

Jarak could feel the older hunter turn his eyes on him. "Are you certain?"

Looking again at Atil, Jarak followed the lines of the deep wounds. Kavia surely had tried to kill him in that battle, Jarak thought with a shake of his head. No doubt the vicious huntress was probably walking around right now without a scratch on her. Looking to Rakkah who was speaking to his second, who stood by his side, Jarak thought of their leader's words years ago and how he had informed all the unmated males of Ojibwe that pleasure could be had with human mating as long as it was paired with much control. How was that even possible? Pleasure was not something to be had from mating, its purpose was for seeding and nothing more. That was the way of the yautja, just as all yautja before him had done. Looking to Atli, favoring his right leg as he conversed with another hunter, Jarak tried to picture the mating battle between him and the formidable Kavia. It was a hard task, Jarak thought with a suppressed groan. No matter how fierce and respected Atli was, Jarak was sure no pleasure could have been derived from that mating. 

Glancing to his side, Jarak looked beyond Akur to the hunter's cousin, Tyrn, who stood conversing with another hunter. Positive the white-eyed hunter could not hear him, Jarak spoke to Akur. "Rakkah once spoke of the pleasure to be had from human mating, but…I am not so sure," he said with hestitation, thinking of their pliable human skin and their aversion to pain. "They are…soft."

Akur growled low in agreement. "Yes, they are, but they are also surprising in how they approach the mating act," he explained while his eyes remained watchful. "Some are timid." 

Jarak could see Akur nod towards Rakkah and knew he was speaking of their leader's mate.

"Some are…energetic," Akur added with a low noise of appreciation and Jarak wondered if the red-marked hunter was referring to his own mate. "And some," Akur went on carefully, "I imagine can be assertive."

Knowing exactly who the hunter was subtly hinting at Jarak turned and faced the shorter hunter directly, his mandibles twitching with warning. "You will not imagine," he commanded tersely.

Amusement shined in the older hunter's eyes as he stared up at Jarak unfazed by his anger. "As long as the yautja who mates with a human does not pierce their skin," Akur continued to explain, "and heeds the sounds of their human's pleasure then there will be no issue for the next yautja who mates a human."

Jarak wanted to shake his head at the influx of thoughts and coupled emotions. Sounds of pleasure? The simple words felt incendiary as the meaning coursed through his brain. Unbidden, his mind recalled Justice that morning as he left his home. She had sat on the couch with her thick black hair unbound from her braids yet again, a task she liked to perform nearly twice a week. Spilling over her shoulders and falling to her waist, her black hair was memorizing. The urge to reach out and touch it had been nearly overpowering. Nursing her child, she had sat there topless and absorbed in Larsa's bright staring gaze, while the scene they made burned through him like liquid fire. 

Even now the deep reverberation of a growl threatened low in his chest as he thought of Akur's words. Could Justice find the mating act pleasurable? Did she make human sounds of pleasure with Larsa's sire when they rutted? Anger hotter than he had ever felt threatened to blind Jarak as his mind began to conjure an image of Justice rutting with the human male. Days before, Jarak had found an image of the man who had deceived Justice and sired Larsa. To Jarak he looked no different from any other pale human male he had seen before and could not understand Justice's attraction to rut with him. Only the knowledge that this, Luke, human was dead by Justice's hand helped quell some of his rage.

"Ravki will be able to tell us," Iko announced from the dais, pulling Jarak's attention back to the present conversation at the dais. 

Tapping a command onto his gauntlet, Iko pulled up the holograph screen above the dais. The red holograph flashed before connecting to Ravki's lab. 

For a minute Jarak's brain had to process just exactly he was seeing. Dressed in the flowing clothes Rakkah's mate usually wore, Justice sat posed on a stool in Ravki's lab holding a sleeping Larsa in her lap. Red silky cloth streamed from her hips in long strips showing off the full length of her dark, bare legs while her breasts were only covered with one thin strip of fabric. Her exposed dark skin gleamed like a brazier in contrast to the bright red fabric. With her head tilted back, exposing her throat and her eyes closed, her loose black hair fell past her hips. Standing behind her, Ravki held up a device to Justice's head casting red laser lines at her forehead and scalp. Sleeping with her cheek pressed against her mother's bare stomach, Larsa slept soundly and undisturbed through the process. The position between Ravki and Justice was almost intimate. Her closed eyes and tilted head resting in the hunter's large hand felt like talons being scored across Jarak's mind. 

A snarl so deep and savage ripped from Jarak's throat and he watched with pleasure as Justice jumped a little. Opening her eyes, she tried to sit up straight but Ravki's hand, resting at the base of her scalp within her soft hair, kept her in place. Jarak was going to rip that hand from the hunter's arm. 

"Ravki?" Rakkah's voice held a note of warning.

Unable to move her head Justice lifted an arm towards the screen in acknowledgment. "This was by my request," she rushed to explain. "I figured while Jarak and I research for the whereabouts of the remote-control access, maybe Ravki could somehow use me to find out where in my body does the receiver to the access lie."

Jarak could barely hear her words, his eyes were focused on Ravki's hand cradling the base of her head. His fingers immersed in the hair even he had yet to touch!

Stepping closer to the hologram, Jarak ignored the interested stares of his brethren and addressed Ravki in their language. "Let. Go. Of. Her," he said evenly. "Find another way to obtain your information," he commanded dangerously.

Turning finally to face the screen Ravki gave him a tired stare and slowly removed his hand from Justice's hair. Walking around the stool where she sat, Ravki stepped closer to the screen until Jarak could only see him. 

"I do not want your human, Jarak. Your human wants me, and what I can offer," he said in their language while his clawed hand gestured to his scarred bare chest. 

Chuffs of amused growls circulated throughout the throne room, but Jarak did not react he stood motionless staring into Ravki's yellow eyes. There was a challenge sparking through Ravki's gaze, not one of direct promise of combat but a subtle goad that served to enflame Jarak just the same. 

"I have work to do," pressing a clawed finger to the console in front of him, Ravki disconnected the feed.

Turning on his heel, Jarak began to head towards the double doors of the throne room.

"You are not to fight Ravki," Rakkah's order was quiet but every hunter heard the unshakable edge to the leader's voice. 

Turning Jarak fixed the golden-eyed yautja with an angry stare. If he could not kill Ravki then he would at the very least injure him--severely.

A knowing look passed over Rakkah and he propped his head onto his fist as he lounged back on his throne. "You are not to injure him, Jarak. He is the only yautja engineer that I care to converse with, which is why Ravki has liberties others do not."

"Ravki has designed all of our ships, even yours," Iko reminded him sternly.

Stepping forward with a nod of agreement Akur gave Jarak an understanding look. "Ravki is…hard to understand at times, but there is no doubt my mate and even Rakkah's mate would take up arms against us for Ravki and the skills he holds."

Jarak suppressed a groan, they were right. He would get a fight, and not quite the one he craved with Justice if he harmed the useful engineer. Annoyed he flexed his claws at his side and stood his ground, with his back towards the doors.

"What has brought you to me, Jarak?" Rakkah asked.

For a moment Jarak had to recall why he was even there. Pushing away the thoughts of Justice still sitting in Ravki's lab he looked to Rakkah. "I want access to Carnak's collected information."

Just as Ojibwe, the yautja of Carnak hunted across all the known universes bringing back all collected information to their respective leaders. Only Rakkah and selected few on Ojibwe had access to their sister planet's data. 

Rakkah gave him a considering look before looking to Iko. Nodding, Iko tapped his spear against the floor before pointing at him. "You will fight in the upcoming spar with Carnak," Iko decreed. 

Jarak sighed and nodded. If that was what was required to have the information Justice needed, he would spar with Carnak's warrior. Waiting for his agreement to be accepted he turned and left the throne room and headed towards Ravki's lab.

~*~

She was starting to think it wasn't just possessiveness. After stomping into Ravki's lab Jarak had stood there like a silent seething mountain as Ravki ran the rest of his scans. The tension in the room was so high Justice had felt like she was drowning in it. She wanted to yell at Jarak, argue with him that Ravki may just hold the key to all of her problems and that him acting like a jealous boyfriend wasn't helping. But she said nothing. Her words dried up in her throat as she felt the possessive warmth of his hand settling on her bare back as he led her through the lab door. Her remaining arguments dissolved on her tongue as he took Larsa's tiny weight from her arm and walked purposely through the palace halls with her sitting securely on his arm and leaning against his chest. Goddammit all, she had realized in a panic later that night as she showered, he wasn't being just possessive he was jealous--and she didn’t hate it. 

Standing within a small clearing of trees, dressed now in shorts and a tank-top Justice tried to shake away the thoughts of the gigantic yautja. 

"Ok, Noko you're next," she called out to the little girls standing on the other side near Koga, who sat on the ground next to them. On Koga's right a small crib hovered silently off the ground. From her position Justice could see Larsa's feet moving occasionally within.

Overly excited, Noko ran to the center of the clearing and took Okaj's place in the center of the clearing. 

Before she even had to instruct her Noko held her little hands up, balled into tiny fists at her cheeks. Grinning at the girl, Justice stepped forward and pulled them up a little. 

"Keep them here, ok," she instructed, waiting for the child's excited nod. "Ok, just like Okaj I want you to look at the rubber balls your mom and aunty Ember are going to drop and I want you to avoid them. Make sure you bend only at the knees, not the waist," she emphasized putting her hands on the girl’s waist and giving it a playful shake. 

Laughing the girl nodded. 

"Ok," Justice stepped back and raised her hand for Ember and Ahzma who sat on branches in the trees behind her with the rubber balls attached to various strings. "Ready, set--go."

One by one Ember and Ahzma dropped the balls in their hand letting them swing down to Noko. Missing only the first few, the child quickly got the hang of it and began to bob and weave with a surprisingly good rhythm. On the other side of the clearing Nyla and Okaj caught the swinging balls with joyous laughter obediantly bringing them back around to their mothers. 

"That was very good," Justice congratulated the girl and gave her a little hug. 

"All right, Nyla you're-" Her words were cut off by Okaj's sudden excited cry.

"Tyrn!"

All three girls looked at the hunter who entered the clearing. With white markings scrawled over his arms and legs much like Akur and Koga's, the hunter looked from the children and settled his bright white eyes onto Justice.

She remembered the hunter from her first day on Ojibwe and his incessant questioning in the throne room. Crossing her arms over her chest, Justice blew out a sigh as she recognized the gleam in his eye.

"Tyrn we're busy," Ember called out from the tree she sat in behind her. "Go away."

Ignoring his cousin by marriage the hunter walked over to Justice and stopped. "I want to see these fighting skills you claim to possess, cyborg."

Justice's brows raised at that. In her whole life she wasn't sure she had ever been called cyborg. Yes, that was technically what she was but she had never actually been called that.

Looking past him to Koga who still sat on the ground next to Larsa's crib, Justice made eye contact with him and gestured towards Tyrn with her thumb. "He have a hearing problem or something? Because you heard when I said I cannot fight any of you, right?"

Amusement glittered through Koga's eyes, but he said nothing.

"I heard you," Tyrn growled angrily. "I just do not believe your claims."

"And why would I care if you believe me or not?" she threw back with a taunting smile.

Angry now Tyrn took a step forward and stopped at the sudden pressure on his shoulder. Both her and his eyes fell on the long slender claws gripping his shoulder. 

"Move, I need to speak with the human," the aggressive feminine voice commanded before pushing the tall hunter out of the way with little to no effort.

Face to face now with the intruder, Justice's heart stopped for a second and her eyes widened at the familiar scarred face. "It's you," Justice whispered, a smile of awe slowly spreading across her lips.

Dressed in dark green and black armor, the huntress looked exactly how Justice remembered her from years ago. 

Pale green eyes flecked with yellow stared at her without a trace of warmth, which only made Justice's smile grow even larger. "You're still as badass as I remember you," she didn’t bother hiding the breathy awe in her voice.

"You know her?" Tyrn hissed at their side, notably out of striking distance from the huntress.

The huntress's eyes narrowed as Justice nodded. She wouldn’t say how though. On one of their first handful of missions solo, her and her sisters had run up on the huntress fighting off a group of synthetic soldiers. They were trying to capture her; Justice had surmised from their use of non-lethal weapons and nearby cargo container. Discreetly, her and her sisters had picked off a few of the overwhelming numbers of the synthetic androids turning the fight back into a fair one. From cover they had watched as the huntress finally gained the upper hand with the reduced numbers and killed her attackers, but she knew she had been helped. With incredible speed the huntress had found their hiding spot and stopped in her tracks at the sight of them before promptly turning and leaving.

"Is this the hunter you claimed to have hunted?!" the mocking disbelief in Tyrn's voice was evident.

"No, that was a different yautja--a male," Justice clarified with a wave of her hand, trying to shoo off the annoying yautja. "This one, is one my sisters and I met," she indicated to the huntress. "She did not engage us in a fight, she just simply disappeared leaving quite an impression on us all," she recounted wistfully.

"You all began to squeal like pigs," the huntress spoke and her voice reminded Justice of crushed glass and gravel. It was glorious.

"I believe those were simply shrieks of excitement," Justice pointed out. 

"You have asked about me. What do you want human?" the huntress asked with impatience. 

Bless that other huntress who delivered the message, Justice thought. "I simply wanted to get your name so I may give it to my sister. Do you remember my sister?" she asked excitedly. "The tall one who stared at you as if seeing the creation of a star, the one who nearly gave chase when you left? Surely, you remember her?"

"I do not," she replied scathingly.

Looking into her eyes Justice could see no brief sign of emotion like she could on most of the males, but she still suspected the huntress was lying. "No worries," she shrugged and flicked her fingers to pull up her personal computer. "Then simply allow me to give you some of the poetry Bex wrote about you." Turning to Ember and Ahzma who now stood on the ground next to one another she explained. "From the moment she saw her, we couldn’t get Bex to stop talking about her. Night and day, we were told in graphic detail about her love for the huntress. So, I figured if I can at least share some of Bex's feelings with the huntress directly this might just take the edge off of the fight I will no doubt have to have when I eventually wake my sister out of cryo-sleep."

"I am not interested," the huntress growled and turned to leave. 

"Not a problem," Justice called out, "I will just read it aloud," she said clearing her throat and began reading the document. "Whatever happens with us, your body will haunt mine. Your muscular, generous thighs between which my whole face has come and come…"

The huntress's sudden roar filled the clearing and she was back in front of Justice towering over her, her sharp claws twitching at her sides ready to sink into her flesh if she continued. Justice just smiled sweetly.

Sweeping her gaze across the clearing, Justice caught Koga's and Tyrn's eyes both filled with barely suppressed humor as they watched the scene in rapture. Both Ahzma and Ember's eyebrows were still high in their hairline either from the risqué beginnings of the poem or the huntress's reaction, or both. Only the three little girls looked joyfully confused by the scene.

"I can just send you the file," Justice pointed to the blue holographic between them. "It gets pretty filthy at one point so it may be better if I-"

"I could just disembowel you here and now instead," the huntress's scratchy voice threatened.

With an equally threatening smile Justice stepped closer to the huntress until the yautja female's tusk were only a hair's breadth away from her. "Or you can take the file and just get yourself prepared to face down Bex, because she will find you," Justice promised softly. "And frankly if serving your hot piece of ass to my sister keeps me from having to go toe-to-toe with that crazy bitch then consider yourself trussed up and served." She could see the huntress bristle all over, but Justice continued. "When you met us, we were kids. But Bex is bigger and meaner than she was then, and I know you remember her despite your claims, she wasn't some dainty flower before. If Jarak had a female human counterpart then that would be Bex. So, take the files, save us both some time and satisfy your curiosity that I know is there." Slowly she placed her hand over the huntress's gauntlet and she felt the slight hum of her rings as they sent the file. "My name is Justice, and it is a true honor to meet you again."

Turning around with a whip of her dark dreads the huntress spoke over her shoulder. "I am Ookla and I will meet this Bex in battle for her disrespect."

"I am sure she will be delighted," Justice called after her disappearing figure. 

~~  
As the sun fell behind the trees, one by one the women left. First Rakkah appeared catching both of his giggling girls in his arms and waited as Ahzma followed at his side. When Akur arrived, he found both his mate and Okaj sleepily leaning against his brother, Koga, waiting to be escorted home. Storing the items she used for training in the outdoor locker near the kennels, Justice tossed a few treats to the whimpering hounds who stared at her with interest. 

"I have heard of your meeting with Ookla," the familiar voice behind made her smile. Shutting the locker door, Justice turned to see Jarak standing behind her. 

Letting her fingers glide over the smooth pudgy rolls of Larsa's leg hanging out from her harness, Justice cocked a knowing smile up at the big hunter. "Oh, did you now? Worried I was speaking to another hunter without your permission?" she taunted.

Jarak did not answer, only his aurora eyes glittered back at her with something dangerous and a bit carnal. Wordlessly he gestured her to follow. Mounting the speeder parked within the vine covered trees, she scooted forward on the seat and waited as he climbed on heavily behind her, his weight dipping the bike slightly. Leaning forward, he gripped the handlebars ahead of her, encasing her in his heat as he started the bike. 

In a comfortable silence they drove home through the darkened streets of Ojibwe and Justice wondered not for the first time about the other yautjas that lived scattered across the planet. The reclusive yautja that liked their privacy and preferred not to commune with their bretheren. Were they tucked inside mini pyramids deep off in the jungles? Were there mother yautjas caring for their children right now and telling them old tales of the hunt? Taking a deep breath of the humid tropical air Justice closed her eyes and savored the feeling Ojibwe allowed her to feel, a feeling she never once experienced not even when she lived on LV549 by herself--a momentary feeling of complete freedom.

Gentle lulling vibrations from behind her hummed through her body and Justice opened her eyes and looked up to Jarak. Feeling her gaze, Jarak looked down at her and for a moment their gazes locked and things that existed unsaid between them began to slowly come to the surface. Justice wanted to say something to…

A raindrop hit her cheek just as the sky above rippled with thunder.

Blinking back into reality, Jarak looked back forward and increased the bike's speed. One by one, then two by two, until hundreds of little drops turned into a downpour. Stopping the bike with a sliding halt near the front door, both her and Jarak hopped from the bike and dashed into the house closing the door behind them. Awake and unhappy at her current state of wetness, Larsa began to fuss angrily in her harness.

"Ok, ok, my love," Justice laughed and swiped some of the rain off her forehead and looked to Jarak.

Unfazed, he stood there dripping wet staring down at her and Larsa's growing agitation with silent interest. As if coming to some silent decision, he reached for Larsa. His clawed, thick fingers working effortlessly at the clasps on the harness. Within seconds he was pulling Larsa's soft heavy weight towards him, letting her lean against his warm chest. 

A stab of something hot and craving tore through Justice's core at the sight of them. Both wet from the rain, Larsa leaned happily against the massive yautja's firm chest and curiously grasped for his black and red spines. 

"Come on you two," Justice said, her voice thick with emotion as she turned and hung the damp baby harness by the door. 

Going up the stairs first, she led him to her room on the second floor. While Jarak stood in the middle of the room caught in a battle of stares with Larsa, Justice tried her best to push down the growing feeling of desire running through her veins. Grabbing Larsa's toiletries in the bathroom, Justice activated the tub and set it at its lowest setting being sure to keep her eyes off the tender way Ojibwe's most fearsome hunter held her daughter. But it was useless goddammit! Every glance back at him, Justice found herself growing hot and even more agitated. From the way his tiny inhuman eyes watched Larsa to his giant hand and deadly claws gently splayed across her tiny back securing her to him, it was driving Justice mad. Why was he acting like the silent protective father Larsa deserved?! He was yautja for star's sake! He was THE top monster of the fucking known galaxy. He was…goddammit, he was everything Justice wanted, she thought with a near panic. 

Despite the temperature read out on the wall, Justice bent down and checked the water with a trembling hand. How did this happen? She didn’t have time for these types of thoughts. Haven't you learned your lesson from the last time you fell for a guy, she mentally shouted at herself. A moment of weakness nearly cost her, her free will and she wound up pregnant. This…this feeling is a weakness, she told herself. This feeling she refused to name could not happen. Standing up straight, she turned towards the room and steeled herself while repeating those words in her head. 

"Ok I can…" her heart clenched as she met Jarak's sunset eyes. The orange and reds of his beady, predatory eyes made her legs tremble and her sex pulse. Forcing the words out, she averted her gaze and stepped forward. "I will take her."

Reaching for Larsa, Justice sighed at her warm weight and smiled at the precious child. Kissing the top of her damp, silky curls, Justice turned and walked towards the bathroom and knelt on the floor. Taking off the baby's clothes, Justice placed Larsa into the warm shallow water. Awareness prickled up her spine like hot fingers being trailed slowly up her back and she knew Jarak was standing in the open doorway staring at her as she washed Larsa. Acutely aware of her position, Justice caught her lower lip between her teeth as she tried to focus on the task and not the feeling of his gaze lingering down her back and curving over her bent ass. 

Clean and a little fussy, Justice pulled the naked baby into a warm clean towel and held her close. Walking past Jarak to the bed she cuddled Larsa. Wide, liquid brown eyes stared up at her, and Justice felt the turmoil within her begin to abate. Larsa was so happy right now: here on Ojibwe, with the other women and their little girls, and more importantly with Jarak. 

Feeling some of her courage return at that thought, Justice looked up and met the hunter's waiting gaze and she shuddered at the silent recognition that passed through his eyes. 

Outside the storm lashed harder and Justice could hear the wind whip through the trees, flinging debris and hard-hitting rain against the slanted windows. Thunder rumbled across the planet's night air as the relentless rain turned torrential. With only the dim glow of the jungle's nocturnal light coming through the slanted windows and the somber red glow of the recessed lights along the room's edges, Larsa succumbed to the warm gentle rocking and closed her eyes. Placing her on the black leather mattress, Justice carefully stood up from the bed. 

As if signaling her agreement to enter the ring, Justice felt Jarak's patient temperament shift and watched with bated breath as he stepped closer. 

Reaching for her, his large hand did not pause even as thunder clapped with shuddering force around them. Instinctively both of their eyes went to Larsa who still lay swaddled in her towel on the bed. Watching her daughter breath for a second, Justice closed her eyes and turned her head back to Jarak as she felt his big hand cup her neck. The heavy weight of the deadly hand on her throat made her nipples harden. Gently the thick black claw on his thumb traced the underside of her throat as a deep succession of clicks emanated from his chest. With her eyes still closed, Justice felt as Jarak began to push her backward and allowed him to guide her until her she felt her shoulder blades hit the cool surface of the wall. 

The sound of Jarak's low growl threaded itself with the rumbles of thunder just outside the window. A hot hand at her waist caused her to open her eyes and she watched with transfixed captivation as Jarak's pupil's widened and his breathing became labored. Taking his hand from her throat, he placed it on the wall above her head and she could hear the clack of his claws against the metal surface. Slowly his other hand at her waist began to push upward, bunching the material of her shirt with its slow passage. 

"Jarak," she breathed heavily.

Bowing his head over her, some of his dreads slipped past his broad shoulders and fell against her. Braced against the wall, Jarak spoke evenly and deeply his mandibles flaring with each swelling breath of his big chest boxing her in against the wall. 

"You will bathe," he commanded and she stiffened.

Blinking she gave him a sharp look. "Are you saying I stink?" she asked. "Because if you-" her words were cut off with a startled little feminine sound that sounded so foreign to her ears for a moment she wondered if it truly came from her throat.

Pushing his hand upward, Jarak cupped the outside of her bra, the curving weight of her breast feeling heavier in his warm hand. 

Shifting his head, causing more of his dreads to curtain around her, Jarak's eyes glowed in the darkness as he stared at her. "Yes," he growled deeply. "Your scent is…increasing with every second and every breath. I…cannot take much more of it."

Justice bit her lip as she tried to discern his words. Was he saying she stunk? 

She frowned at him. "Fine," she said tersely as she slipped away from him.

She ignored his agitated growl behind her and continued her march to the bathroom.

"Stop," he commanded in a low voice and she felt the presence of his hand draw near the back of her arm.

Faster than he expected, she turned and slapped his hand away. "Nope," she said with a cruel smile. "You lost your chance at that when you told me I stank. Go find yourself a female yautja who doesn't-"

Still momentarily stunned at her swift strike, Jarak's hands curled into fists and Justice saw the moment his patience disintegrated. With a rush of overpowering speed, he lunged for her, grabbing her around the middle and picking her off the ground. Mindful not to yell at him, Justice looked over his large shoulder and glanced at Larsa still sleeping contently on the bed as he carried her through the bathroom door. Setting her down onto her feet, Jarak hit the wall sensor letting the door shut with a swishing zip behind them. 

"Oh, so you want to get beat-up in the bathroom, that's fine by me," she hissed, angrily swiping a braid out of her face.

Jarak let out a snarling growl in reply, his mandibles flaring wide and his claws splayed out at his sides. He wanted to fight her she realized. He wanted a fight and--more.

"Oh, I get it," she nodded with smug satisfaction as the situation dawned on her. "You want to fight me and fuck me, don't you?"

Something like pain and longing crossed over his beady eyes and she knew she was right.

Crossing her arms, Justice shifted her weight onto one hip and gave the hunter a knowing look. Secretly her chest tightened at the knowledge but she refused to let up on the big beast. 

"I can smell your arousal," he grumbled tersely, his eyes sweeping over her and settling on the apex of her legs.

Self-conscious, Justice shifted on her feet. "You cannot!" she hissed in denial, hoping to God he was lying.

Seeing her mortification, Jarak's eyes glittered with knowing amusement. "I can," his deep voice practically purred and Justice felt her lips go dry. Taking another step forward until he crowded her against the wall forcing her to feel the wonderful radiating heat from his enormous, muscular body radiate through her damp clothes. "Your mouth may lie, but your cunt tells me what you want."

Justice swallowed. No words would come to her at that.

Taking in her momentary stunned countenance Jarak reached for her. With none of the gentleness he used for Larsa, his clawed hands grabbed fistfuls of her shirt and ripped the fabric with a jerk off her body. The tearing sound was like a double-edged sword, activating her brain to fight back while at the same time making her body heat with raw want. With little to no effort Jarak caught her reflexive fist with one hand, holding it high on the wall above her head while his other hand caught at her shorts. With a savage snarl that echoed off the bathroom walls he tore the shorts from her body leaving her standing in only her black bra and panties.

Justice's chest heaved as she watched the beast's eyes cloud over with wild desire. 

"I'm sure with yautja there is still a thing called permission," she taunted breathlessly, wanting to stoke the primal fires within the massive yautja even higher. Catching his gaze, she gave him a provoking sharp smile. "I have not-"

"Permission," Jarak growled savagely, "is that you have not called for your gun." Justice trembled under the deep thunder of his voice, one hand still being held up against the wall and the other flat against his firm chest. Her body ached at the feel of his rough scaled hide. She could feel the pulse of need between her legs as he put one leg at the outside of hers, letting his knee brush against her naked thigh. "Permission," he continued, dropping his face close to hers, "is the scent of your want for me. Permission, is something I no longer require."

Pride and heady desire coiled in her chest like an asp and swirled down her veins. "The fuck it is," she whispered, her eyes darting from his eyes to his fanged mouth behind his tusked mandibles. "I can take your so-called permission away and give it to another."

The roar that burst from his chest felt like being struck with a thunderbolt. Eyes glowing like two hot coals in the darkness, Jarak grabbed her ignoring her cry of shock. Hoisting her high in the air, he shoved her roughly against the wall and let out a shuddering animalistic sound.

"You are mine!"

Instinctually a hundred different scenarios played themselves in her head on how she could fight him back in this position. But Justice chose none of them. Bracing her hands on his thick forearms, she looked down at him from her position.

"Say it," he commanded roughly. "I will hear you say the words and put an end to this topic."

Justice could see some of the warmth fade from his eyes and she could see the predatory beast within begin to consume him with each second, she did not answer him. 

Sliding her hands along his wide forearms, she stopped just out of reach of his face. Seeing her intention, Jarak stepped closer bending his arms that held her high up until she could run her fingers against his face, cupping the sides of his concaved mandibles.

"Yes. I…I'm yours," she said, her voice pained as she thought of all she had lost and all she had failed at. "But you deserve better," she whispered.

Stepping closer again, Jarak gave her a dismissive chuffing sound as he pulled her close. Automatically her legs wrapped around his waist at the proximity and she sighed at the feeling of his rock-hard chest pressed against her breasts. 

Instantly his hands caressed her skin. One gripping her ass as he held her firmly in place and the other coming to her breasts. Justice only smiled as she felt the violent tug of her bra being jerked from her body and groaned with pleasure at the feel of his rough hand palming her breast. 

Rough and textured, Jarak palmed her breast with enthusiasm. Swiping the thick claw of his thumb across her pebbled nipple earned him a soft sound from her throat that made his pupils dilate in wonder. 

Using her own opportunity to explore him, Justice let her hands spear through the thick pile of spines at his head and smiled in delight at their rubbery feeling. Growling in appreciation Jarak shifted against her and then froze.

Justice looked down at him. "What is-" her words caught in her throat as she followed his gaze. 

With his hand frozen around her left breast, his eyes focused on the bead of milk coming from her nipple. Justice felt her breath stop at the animalistic intent seeping into his eyes.

"Jarak don't," she pleaded, knowing if he tasted her it would drive him over the edge while everything in her hated herself for wanting it just as badly.

Ignoring her, Jarak ducked his head and lifted her higher. Spreading his mandibles wide, his hot breath puffed against her breast in forewarning before she felt the molten moist touch of his tongue laving at her sensitive peak.

A whimpering sound jolted from her mouth just as Jarak closed his eyes and let out a fierce animalistic sound. 

Opening his eyes, he stared back at her. All the warmth and patience he usually possessed was gone. Staring back at her was a driving hunger that promised a night filled with rough, exquisite ecstasy.

Holding onto a semblance of her reason, Justice shook her head with pain. "We can’t Jarak," she breathed despite bucking her hips against his rough torso. Fuck how she wanted him, but she was not worthy of him. Not Jarak, not her sweet ferocious warrior who didn’t belong to her--shouldn’t--belong to her. "You need a real mate, not me."

Jarak froze his eyes boring into hers and Justice regretted her words, wanting to immediately take them back.

With a low rumbling noise, Jarak lowered his gaze. Taking her by the waist he pulled her from him and sat her steadily on her feet and took a step back.

"You will bathe, eat, and sleep. I will return," he commanded before turning towards the door.

Pain coalesced like a whirlwind of knives within her chest and Justice wanted to scream in frustration. She wanted to abandon her pride and beg him to turn back to her and hold her. Eyes stinging, she watched him in silence as he touched the sensor on the door.

Pausing in the doorway, Jarak spoke not looking at her as he did. "You are mine. I will take no other, but you."

Letting the door close behind him, he did not see how his words affected her.

~*

Bare from his waist up, Rakkah walked silently through his palace halls and stopped at the sight of the dripping hunter standing alone in the grand hall. Soaked by the rain, Jarak stood silently with his back to him seemingly staring at the rippling reflection pool in the middle of the hall. Rain filtered in from the open point at the top of the pyramid, raining down past the statues of the huntresses and into the usually placid water.

Stopping, Rakkah waited silently.

Sensing his presence Jarak turned to him and Rakkah blinked. The younger warrior was seething. A frenzy lit up his eyes while his heated skin turned the water on his skin into steam. This was unusual for the big hunter. Normally reserving his savagery for battle and always in control of his natural aggression, Rakkah considered Jarak to be fairly even tempered. Tonight, that did not seem to be the case.

Speaking first, Jarak took one step forward. "Three years ago, you spoke of information needed if we were to mate with a human."

Rakkah wasn't sure why he was surprised by the news. It was apparent to all that Jarak was not only captivated by the human in his charge, he was fiercely possessive about her.

Pleased with the information, Rakkah nodded. "Yes. I will give you the information," he paused and looked directly at the younger hunter before saying. "But I advise you watch the information--alone."

A brief note of confusion crossed over the massive hunter's eyes and Rakkah lifted his gauntlet and typed something in. "Go to the third room on the seventh floor. Go over the information in there--and then go hunt before seeing your mate."

Satisfaction rolled off the giant hunter in waves at the term. Crossing his arm over his chest with a fist, Jarak bowed in sign of deep respect before leaving. 

Rakkah waited in that spot for a moment, thinking of the hunter. There was a feeling of pride within him as he thought of Jarak finding satisfaction with the human. Memories of finding the young hunter standing bloody over the bodies of his bretheren years ago came back to Rakkah. He could remember the shame and sadness in the young yautja's eyes when he looked at him. Shunned and forced to hunt his own, Jarak had lived alone in dishonor for years before Rakkah had found him. The toll of his past took years to work through. Day after day Jarak had thrusted himself into the hunt never seeking rewards and hesitantly acknowledging the honor he brought to himself and Ojibwe. But maybe now, Rakkah thought as he turned back to his chambers, maybe now with a family to call his own Jarak would now look to see himself as all his bretheren on Ojibwe saw him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  
> Happy Valentine’s day! May a beefy Jarak or maybe a muscular Ookla come visit you in your dreams tonight.
> 
> Thank you for all the nice comments. I was able to take a deep breath and realize you were all right and to focus on the positive not the negative.


	16. Chapter 16

"And just what kind of training takes you out every night and you coming back angry as hell?" Justice asked sharply from her position leaning against the door jam.

She had woken a few minutes ago to an empty house for the third day in a row. Putting Larsa into her highchair in the living room, Justice did a quick search of the house and found no trace of the colossal hunter. It was only by mid-morning did the yautja return always in a tense grumbling mood. Today, he carried something huge and quite dead slung over his shoulder into his work room. Hanging the alien animal body onto hook suspended from the ceiling Jarak stepped back and cast his sunset eyes on her.

"I train for us," he replied tersely.

"Us?" she frowned, not understanding his words whatsoever. "How the hell do you train for us? What does that mean? Besides you’re the meanest bastard on this planet--ok maybe not the meanest," she corrected not able to help the smile that tugged at the corner of her lips as she looked at him, "but certainly the baddest motherfucker here. So, what is there really to train for in the middle of the night until morning?"

For a moment he simply stared down at her, the emotion in his eyes shifting from pride at her earlier words to a blank unreadable expression. Turning his back to her, Jarak reached out for the hanging carcass and grabbed one of the various knives from the array attached to the wall. Decorated with bones of a spinal cord the knife looked like some tribal ceremonial blade, very much Jarak's style. Sinking the blade into the beast's flesh, Jarak cut a long line from groin to chest letting the dark blue blood flow out into the drain on the floor.

Finally, Jarak spoke. "I train for our mating."

For a moment Justice just stood there staring at the back of his broad shoulders and long pile of tubular spines resting on his back. His words bounced about in her head like a ping-pong ball.

Reaching up Justice grabbed a fistful of his spines at the base of his head and pulled until Jarak let out a rumbling growl and began to comply with her force. Pulling and turning the big yautja, Justice shoved him with full strength at his chest ignoring his snarl and watched with pleasure as he hit the wall behind him. Snatching the knife from his hand, Justice pressed her forearm under his angry flexing mandibles and held the knife with her other hand pointing at his face. 

Closer now, Justice gave him a cold stare. "And just who the fuck are you practicing on? You go out and find some human bitch to practice your moves with, Jarak?" Her voice hummed with anger. She said his name with every ounce of threat that coursed through her.

Reaching up with painstaking slowness, Jarak carefully wrapped his long-clawed fingers around her hand holding the tribal knife. Justice stared into his warm aurora eyes and saw the satisfaction coiling bright within them and allowed him to pluck the knife from her grasp. 

"Your jealousy pleases me," he said, letting the knife drop with a clang on the nearby metal table. 

Refusing to ease the pressure from his throat, Justice narrowed her gaze at him. "I'm not jealous, I'm pissed," she clarified. 

Not at all intimidated by his position, Jarak let his hands settle on her waist and Justice could feel her resolve immediately weaken at their warm heat. 

Disgusted with herself, she snatched her arm from him and stepped back. "Fine go have your-"

Her words were replaced by a small, startled feminine sound that had no business coming from her. Grabbing her by the waist, Jarak lifted her high against him. Instinctively her legs wrapped around his waist and she sighed at the contact of his warm abdomen pressed against her sex. 

"I do not train with anyone," Jarak declared, the bass in his monstrous voice sending ripples through their connected bodies.

Carrying her against him, Jarak began to walk her out of the work room and Justice felt her senses soar as she felt them move towards the living room. Burying her hands into the rubbery pile of his dreads, Justice listened with barely contained hunger as he continued to speak.

"I do not have any desires for another, only you," he decreed and Justice felt herself grow wet.

Leaning forward in his arms, Justice pressed her breasts against his face and placed a kiss between his eyes rejoicing in the stinging feeling of his fingers gripping the fleshy mass of her ass with barely contained need. Clicks and growls coming from his chest filled the room and Justice's eyes rolled back into her head as she felt him press her against a wall. Yes, right here, right now. She didn't care. 

Looking down she let out another little whimper as she saw the frenzied lust in his eyes. Pulling at the hem of her shirt, Justice flung it over and off her head just as Jarak reached for her bra with one hand keeping his other braced on her ass. Pushing the material up, he exposed her breasts with a jostling bounce. For the briefest second, his eyes widened and pupils dilated with appreciative wonder before the darkness of hunger shadowed them again. Opening his mandibles wide he dove his head forward capturing one fleshy globe within his mouth. The tiny pricks of his fangs encasing her breast barely registered to her as Justice let out a moan. Hot and wet his tongue found her sensitive nipple laving it back and forth. Round and round his rough tongue scored at the tiny peak before circling the areola. The sounds he made were animalistic as she bucked her hips against him needing more and more. Grabbing his hand, Justice guided it lower between them until he cupped her in the spot that needed him most.

Crying out at his immediate compliance, Justice closed her eyes and leaned against the wall as his hand and mouth worked against her as one. Pulsing and rubbing at her wet sex through her pants while his tongue coaxed out her milk.

A familiar playful cry rent the air and they both froze.

Slowly Jarak pulled away from her ignoring her sound of dismay as he looked over his shoulder. They were standing underneath the stairs, the same spot they had argued in before. Behind him in her highchair sitting next to the kitchen counter Larsa held her stuffed hippo toy in one hand and stared at them both with a curiosity that said "why are you ignoring me?"

Justice could feel her giant yautja change beneath her. The feral hardness that had turned his body to steel was fading as the familiar warmth began to suppress the carnal need in his eyes. No, no, no Justice mentally screamed. Turning his head roughly back to her, she gave him a pleading look. "It's fine, she won't remember any of it," she coaxed shamefully.

Justice felt rather than heard the deep chuckle within him and pouted as he let her slide to the ground his hand at her sex being the last to pull away from her which only made Justice want to cry.

Looking into her eyes an evil look of promise filled his predatory eyes. "The things I plan to do--she will," he said deeply.

Justice felt her mouth drop at that. "Ok," she managed to gasp out, trying to pull her thoughts from the sordid images that kept playing through her mind. "Well…umm…I do need to be doing some research and Ravki needs to run more scans so…"

She was just rambling now; she had no idea what she was even talking about. She was so damn turned on everything hurt. Pulling down her bra, she stood there as Jarak silently watched her fidget. 

"After my sparring with Carnak, you will sleep in our room," he commanded waiting for her acknowledgement.

Our room, she mentally repeated. He really did mean to take her for his mate. Joy, worry, and doubt filled her stomach. Doing her best to focus on the joy she felt when she looked into his eyes, Justice nodded. 

~*~

"So, this display is some sort of resume of your badassery, right?" Justice asked aloud as she squinted at the skull in her hands. Judging by the jaw size and the huge eye sockets on the cranium it was an adult Corverian, a bear-like alien.

Justice could feel the pause in the air and smirked. 

Finally, after a few seconds, Jarak's deep voice spoke from behind her. "It is a display on my honor, yes."

They were about eight miles east of the palace and past the ship hangar. A large circular clearing was cut into the jungle on a flat part of land containing a circular structure. Giant black metal rods were placed in the ground, each standing over eleven feet high, encircling the space like a jail cell. It was a fighting ring. Outside of the ring were three more poles, naked and standing by themselves. Having transported five black boxes behind their speeder that morning, both her and Jarak worked tirelessly arranging his massive collection of skulls and bones against the three pillars.

A jingle to her right brought Justice's attention up from the skull in her hand to the little black baby walker heading her way. Smiling Justice greeted Larsa. 

"Hello, there sweetheart, you're back to see momma?" she asked in a light airy voice. 

Smiling Larsa bounced with pure happiness, her tiny pudgy feet not touching the ground as she jostled her plump body happily up and down in the bouncing walker. Ravki had come through yet again, Justice thought appreciatively. Showing him pictures of human baby walkers, she described how she wanted it to be an all-terrain one that could keep her feet off the ground if she wanted. Within a day the genius yautja had sent the creation over with a grumbling Tyrn to her door. Mobile and loving it, Larsa had taken to the walker like a natural. Setting the controls so it only stayed on a set path of coordinates, the walker allowed her to bounce from point A to point B between Justice and Jarak as they worked. 

Kissing the top of Larsa's baby-soft forehead, Justice went back to her pile of skulls and picked up another Corverian skull and tied it to the pile she was making at the bottom of the pole. "Ravki thinks he is closer to finding the receiving end of the access."

Jarak only grunted. 

"Oh, come on," she said looking at Jarak who unlike her just dumped the skulls into a haphazard pile around the pole and began securing them. "There is no need to be jealous of Ravki, especially after yesterday and how you left me frustrated for the rest of the day.

Turning only his head until she could see the fierce outline of his mandibles and a gleam of one aurora colored eye, he gave her a piercing look. "You were not alone in your suffering," he replied dryly.

"Mmm," she intoned silkily, her eyes traveling past his wide, bare shoulders where the shoulder blades rippled underneath his scaled skin, "so why don't you come over here and-"

Tensing, Jarak turned and looked at her directly and pointed a black claw her way. "You will not tempt me woman. I will fight in the spar, obtain the information you need, and then," his eyes glittered despite the bright sun overhead, as he emphasized the word. " I will rut you for days afterword."

Justice felt her heart drop and the air in her lungs turn to smoke. "For days?!" she screeched. "Sweet stars, Jarak I may be enhanced, but even I don't think I can handle days’ worth of fucking."

By now Larsa was happily making her way back to Jarak in her set path of bouncing adventure.

Without taking his eyes from hers, Jarak kicked a fallen xenomorph skull out of Larsa's path all the while his eyes promised Justice a future of raw, carnal need. "You will."

Turning from him, Justice began slapping the skulls onto the pile ignoring all her previous painstaking pattern. "Fucking hell," she muttered breathlessly as her mind conjured up the endless rounds of lovemaking with the beast. 

Beyond sexually frustrated and annoyed she turned to the next container and took out what looked to be a spine held together by wire. "You know you have four more containers like these still in storage, are we going to go back and get those?"

"No, I would not put this up if it was not customary. I will finish the fight quickly and be done with it."

A smile fought itself through her sexual frustration and she imagined Jarak simply walking into the ring tomorrow and backhanding his opponent across the ring and calmly walking away.

"So, you can come back home and rut me for days, right?" she asked jokingly though the words still made her burn with want.

Looking back at her his primal eyes glowed with more lurid promise. "Correct."

~*~

Opening his eyes, Jarak stared up at the glass ceiling above his bed. Stationed at the tip of the pyramid the single room on the third floor, his room, was soaked by the bright morning sunlight. Blinking he sat up and opened his senses. The brightness of the sun, the quiet stillness of the house--he had overslept. 

Standing up, Jarak looked to the muted display on the wall beside his bed and read the time. There were still a few hours before the sparring, but it was still far later than he intended to wake. Looking to the open door of his room, he listened again for a moment. No human baby noises sounded from below, no soft laughter or high pitch talking Justice usually reserved for Larsa--just silence. Turning back to the screen, he swiped his claws across the surface and brought up the house's sensors. There was no one in the house.

She was most likely out with the other humans.

Completely nude, he walked to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. When was the last time he had slept that long? Last night he had gone to his room soon after Justice had taken Larsa to her room to retire for the night. Before she had stepped into her room, Justice had shared a look with him. A look he had never had directed towards him in his life. A look that made him wonder if other yautja had ever expereinced it. Human's held so many intricate emotions so many subtleties that seemed irrelevant to the yautja mind, but in that moment Jarak deciphered them all as he stared into her violet eyes. The pulse of the fine filaments in her eyes, the steadiness of her gaze, the depth of her feelings boring into him, he understood it all and it was the reason sleep eluded him for hours after. 

Looking down at his claws lying against the sink's counter, Jarak let his mind drift back to the recordings Rakkah had assigned him. Jarak had prepared himself to be overwhelmed with knowledge regarding humans that would leave him confused and frustrated. He took Rakkah's advice to hunt afterward as simply a method to release the frustrations so there would be no repeat incident between himself and Justice. All of his assumptions were wrong.

Before each video he was required to read instructions on the anatomy of the human female body. Information regarding their soft bodies, spots of pleasure, and detailed accounts on how to stoke their pleasure. Once the reading for each section was over an accompanying video played. Stone still, he sat there for what felt like hours watching the human mating. Once or twice on a mission Jarak had seen and heard the loud rutting of humans, but he had never seen it like this. Close up camera angles, writhing bodies, sounds upon sounds of escalating pleasures. Each time the session ended Jarak had left the room in an explosion of energy. At first his feet always seemed to take him back home, back to Justice where she no doubt lay in her bed. His mind imagined her naked and panting like the woman on the videos and he wanted to implement everything he learned. But each time as he came into view of his home he stopped. He would not come to her like this, heaving and half mad with lust. Each time he turned back into the jungle, and he obeyed Rakkah's wise instructions and hunted.

Turning away from the mirror, Jarak stepped into the shower ignoring his arousal that hung heavy between his legs and let the eagerness of the day wash over him. Tonight, when he came home victor with Justice by his side and the information from Carnak as his prize, he would finally claim his mate.

~

Getting to the eastern clearing Jarak slowed his pace as he approached the crowd. Yautja from all over the planet were here today. Female yautja with their young taking their places closest to the ring so that their whelps had optimal viewing of the fight. Standing behind their mate and children, proud yautja males stood quietly with their arms folded over their armored chest silently catching the eyes of other hunters in subtle boast. Fine armor, a renown warrior's history, and a family was every male's goal beyond the hunt. There was no greater achievement than to stand proudly behind one's family showing your clan the strength of your family.

Turning his gaze from the gathering families, Jarak walked towards the crowd of unmated yautja standing on the east side of the sparring ring. Carnak and Ojibwe warriors were scattered amongst the large crowd. Jarak's brow bone lowered in confusion at the size of the crowd and the odd energy emanating from it. Something was going on. Worriedly he began to scan the crowd for the familiar dark skin and long braids of his mate. Trouble followed Justice and she was no doubt somehow the source of this strange energy. Approaching the edge of the crowd Jarak laid a hand on a hunter's shoulder, respectfully gaining his attention to allow him to pass. Turning around the hunter blinked at him and Jarak brow-bone lowered even deeper by the odd sense of shock he read in the younger hunter's eyes. One by one hunters turned and quieted at the sight of him each one stepping back giving him room to pass.

Something cold speared through his chest as he watched even hunters he knew well do the same, each staring at him with an odd reverent look. It reminded him of his clan on Ubu the sudden shift in attitude and the space they put between him and them. What was happening? Curling his clawed fingers into a fist, a snarl began to crawl up his throat as he looked back and forth angrily from hunter to hunter as he walked forward. Finally reaching the front he caught sight of Koga. Stepping back to let him pass, the blue-eyed hunter laid a hand on his tense shoulder and gave him an acknowledging nod Jarak did not understand, but quelled the rising anger within him slightly. Turning to look past him where everyone's gaze was focused Jarak stopped in his tracks and blinked.

Not anything like how he left it yesterday, the once simple display of his achievements towered like a great monolith of death. Every single skull in his storage room was artfully placed spiraling up and connecting all three columns of as one. At the top where every yautja's eyes rested stationed just above the alien queen's head sat the rarest skull of them all. A skull no one, not even Rakkah possessed. 

Feeling his leader's presence at his side Jarak turned and looked down into his leader's eyes and felt his insides relax at the lack of malice in the yautja's eyes. 

"Jarak, why did you not tell us of all of this?" Rakkah waved his clawed hand at the immensity of the collection.

"There are over two thousand kills here," Iko hissed at Jarak's left. 

"Yes, the number sits just under three thousand," Ravki spoke up from Iko's right. "And I know you have another storage locker within the palace."

He did, Jarak inwardly confirmed. 

A hand suddenly clasped his shoulder and Jarak turned around to see Tyrn's angry white eyes. "Tell me brother, when did you get it? I want details from this hunt. Why did you not tell us?"

Jarak knew he was referring to the massive skull everyone was looking at.

"Yes," Rakkah replied. "I too want to know why you kept such an achievement from us."

Looking around Jarak caught the eyes of all the hunters he respected most, Koga's, Tyrn's, Akur's, even Ravki's. There were many reasons he did not tell them, but all of them sounded weak spoken aloud, except for one.

Looking up to the king xenomorph's skull and its glittering crystal teeth Jarak remembered the long bloody battle in the depths of far off uncharted space. He remembered the struggle to cut up the alien and drag it onto his ship. He remembered getting back to Ojibwe tired and worn, but eager to tell his bretheren of his achievement. But as he entered the throne room, he found Rakkah standing amongst the other hunters receiving hardy back slaps and growling terse words of congratulations at the recent birth of his twin girls. 

"Three years ago, you were celebrating the birth of your daughters," Jarak explained evenly. "I would not usurp the honor from that occasion."

Silence hung around them all as his words drifted across the crowd. 

Rakkah did not say anything, he just stood there studying him in an unreadable silence. 

Gruffly Iko spoke. "You will bring accounts of this battle."

And though Iko made no gesture to the king xenomorph skull, Jarak knew that was the one Iko was referring to. 

He had something more precise than a simple account, Jarak had footage of that hunt though he said nothing. They would not receive that footage today or for the next few days--he had plans. Turning his head, Jarak scanned the crowd for her as his fellow warriors began clapping him with stinging slaps of praise along his back. Jarak could practically taste the undercurrent of jealousy in their gruff growls and grunts of acknowledgment.

One hand lingered at his shoulder and Jarak turned to see Akur's orange gaze. "Your human arrived at my house in the darkness of the morning, leaving her fat child with my mate," he said, walking along side of him. "Your human honors you with this display of your works."

"My mate does," Jarak corrected no longer looking at the warrior, his eyes still scanning the crowd until they fell on the familiar human heads near the edge. All three women were obscured by the crowd of yautja surrounding the ring and his trophy display. With a shift in the crowd of bodies, Jarak's chest swelled with the intake of air as he caught her violet eyes staring directly back at him. With the slightest shift of the muscles in her face, the expression she wore changed to something subtle and provoking. Jarak could see the challenge in her eyes, the wordless goad daring him to act.

Stepping forward, Jarak fingers flexed at his sides as his mind envisioned his next steps. Jarak was grateful Ember was holding Larsa. With every step closer to his mate he could see his hands wrapping around her curving waist, he could imagine her weight in his arms as she wrapped her long legs around him and he walked them into the nearby jungle. His mate had honored him and he would honor her in return. As if reading his intentions, Justice's eyes flashed brighter and Jarak could see the violet irises begin to fade to white in her excitement. 

The sound of a horn blared through the air.

Everyone turned their heads to the crowd of arriving yautja. Carnak was here. Leading the large group of yautja to the sparring ring was their leader, a tall, lithe female with green markings and piercing green eyes--Kinrya. 

Jarak groaned inwardly and looked back to Justice. With a small smirk, she gave him a sympathetic shrug; he would not be carrying her off into the woods any time soon.

~

The Carnak yautja were strong. Both Ember and Ahzma winced and shuddered as they all watched the young Ojibwe hunter, Bor, get slung across the ring. 

This was the third match thus far and Ojibwe had only won once. Granted, only young recently blooded hunters had fought for Ojibwe against more seasoned Carnak warriors. Justice watched impassively as the Carnak yautja roared their victory into the air while Bor picked himself off the dusty ground and walked out of the ring. Sympathy practically oozed from Ember and Ahzma as they stared after Bor as he made his way to Rakkah. Their feelings however would not be acknowledged. There was no room for sympathy in yautja life, greatness was not garnered through understanding hugs and loving kisses. And while Rakkah may not dole out the type of cruel negative reinforcement Justice's mind conjured a place like Ubu doing, she could not see the fierce Ojibwe leader being too lenient either. With his mandibles closed tight over his inner mouth Rakkah spoke silently to the younger hunter before him, and Justice could see each word hang heavier and heavier across the younger hunter's shoulders. Finally, Bor nodded and made the respectful yautja bow before turning away, his eyes a little dimmer than before as he walked invisibly through the crowd of his bretheren. 

As the Carnak's leader's second stepped up to announce the next fight, Justice caught sight of a familiar giant over the crowd. Looking to Ember who was standing happily next to her mate holding Larsa, Justice eyed her daughter's tiny headphones once more making sure they were securely in place. In a crowd of boisterous yautja the headphones were the only viable option. 

Making her way over to the giant skull display Justice had spent hours crafting, Justice smiled at the memory of the shock rippling through the crowd. Everyone from Rakkah to Tyrn was stunned into silence by the massive king xenomorph skull she had prominently displayed, and she couldn’t blame them. When she spotted the skull tucked in the back of the storeroom, she nearly gave away the surprise with a squeal. She wanted to run upstairs and jump on Jarak's bed and demand to know why he didn’t place the skull first. The big sweet bastard, she thought as she slipped through the crowd. He didn’t even tell anyone he had the damn thing. Well they all knew now, she thought with an evil chuckle. The faces of the Carnak warriors practically went white as they stared at the massive display and it made Justice want to whoop with laughter. Oh yeah boys, this was a dick measuring contest and she just exposed Jarak as the biggest bastard on the planet. Inwardly laughing at her own joke, she made her way over to the display and stopped.

Wearing only his tiny black leather loincloth and necklace of bones Jarak stood on the inside of the ring near the vertical bars adjusting what looked to be ceremonial, braided leather ties around his wrists. 

Stepping closer to the heavy bars that separated them Justice watched as he turned and studied her. His eyes felt like hot strokes of his heavy hand against her skin as they took in her outfit. Wearing another Tani outfit from Ahzma the lime green diaphanous fabric left very little to the imagination. The thin strip of bright green fabric of her bandeau top barely held her milk-heavy breasts and exposed a generous portion of her abdominal muscles while the long flowing skirt exposed her long legs in slits that went right up to her waist. 

Grabbing onto the bars above his head, Jarak leaned his big forehead against the black metal and looked at her, his sunset eyes glowing as they finally made their way back to her face. "You torment me."

It wasn't a question more like an accusation, but she answered nonetheless. "Yes," she admitted in a low voice placing her hand through the bar and ran it against the hard shape of his pectoral muscles enjoying the roughness of his skin beneath her fingers.

"I will have retribution," he grumbled and Justice nearly closed her eyes at the vibrations of his voice running through her fingers.

Leaning closer towards his bent head, she brushed her lips against his left tusk. "I look forward to it."

Behind him on the far side of the ring, the crowd of Carnak warriors began to make noise. Reluctantly Justice pulled away and smiled as Jarak stayed in place, his hands on the bar above his head and his back to the ring. He watched her with undisguised hunger as she walked away.

Getting back to the other women Justice watched along with everyone else as a large yautja stepped from the midst of the Carnak warriors. Although not as tall as Jarak, the gnarled, battle worn hunter was nearly just as muscled and very stocky reminding Justice of a big log. 

With a show of arrogance, the stocky hunter lifted both arms at his side in proud display as he presented himself before the crowd. A sudden tension rippled through the air around Justice as the Ojibwe hunters watched him with open hostility. Egging their anger on, the arrogant yautja pushed and shoved his way through the crowd as he walked the edge of the ring, determined to show everyone in the crowd his ego and prowess. 

Justice rolled her eyes and turned away from him as he approached her section of the crowd. She could see Jarak standing in the empty ring waiting and watching the hunter, most likely annoyed and ready for this all to be over with she thought with a smirk. Even the Carnak leader, the green scaled huntress, had a shining note of vexation in her beady predatory eyes as if she too had better things to do after this spar. 

Ignoring the hunter compeltely as he approached, shoving and growling back at the prideful Ojibwe hunters who stood in the crowd around her, Justice caught sight of Larsa batting at the black headphones covering her ears. Pushing one of the padded ear-cups off her tiny ear and nuzzling her face deeper into Ember's shoulder, both Ember and herself reached to correct the slip.

The startling roar from behind her caused everyone to jump and Justice watched in alarm as Larsa's eyes went wide in fear before immediately scrunching up in tears. 

"Oh no," Ember moaned in distress as she quickly covered the girl's ear, but the damage was done.

Terrified, Larsa let out a deafening cry her little face reddening by the second as Ember tried to soothe her. 

Anger like none she had ever felt before washed over Justice. Whirling around she confronted the big yautja who was giving her a satisficed stare, as if he was happy to now have her full attention. 

"I have heard of you cyborg," the stocky yautja growled ignoring the open threat that rippled not only from her, but every Ojibwe yautja standing around her.

Standing on either side of her, Tyrn and Akur were practically humming with the need to retaliate to the yautja's offense. 

"Good, and now you will die by me," she whispered. Every muscle in her body was strung tight and ready, the nanites in her blood gathered and multiplied creating one perfect pulsing connection to her brain, ready to send the tiniest signal of movement for her body to obey with lethal force.

Outrage animated the ugly yautja's face as her words registered. Taking a step closer to her, he raised one clawed hand. Justice felt the satisfaction of getting to kill him slide down her spine as her hand grabbed the knife tucked in Tyrn's belt. 

A shadow suddenly covered the sun, pulling her and all the hunters standing around her attentions up and behind the opposing yautja. Justice's eyes widened as the heavy dark shape grew in size and landed with a surprising silent thud behind the stocky yautja. Quickly, the dark shape stood up to its full height behind the unsuspecting hunter.

Reacting much too slow, the stocky yautja still had his hand raised and claws directed at her when the other clawed hand wrapped tightly around his wrist. Justice watched in shocked appreciation as realization dawned too late in the hunter's eyes. 

Using the grip, he had on the stocky hunter's wrist, the towering yautja moved and twisted on his heel and pulled with god-like strength, yanking the hunter off his feet and tossing him up and over the sparring ring's vertical bars.

The hunter landed with a sickening thud in a cloud of dust in the middle of the ring, excitement and shock rippled through the crowd from all sides. Interest finally gleamed through the Carnak leader's tiny eyes as the ground and air shook from the anger in Jarak's deafening roar. Leaping over the tall bars of the sparring ring, Jarak landed again without so much as a sound that seemed to defy physics in accordance to his body mass. Allowing the hunter only seconds to get up and find his balance Jarak attacked, his rage palpable. Justice watched as Jarak dodged the hunter's attempt to swipe at him and grabbed his arm. With a chaotic glee in his eyes, Jarak broke the hunter's arm, the thick cracks audible over the crowd's noise. 

But it was the sound of Larsa's continued crying that Justice had to pay attention to. Turning away from the brutal fight, Justice tossed Tyrn back his knife who caught it mid-air and pulled Larsa from Ember's hold and held the girl close. Tears streaked her little hot face while fear still danced in her liquid brown eyes. 

"I'm going to take her home," she informed Ember as she moved past her in the parting crowd. 

She wanted nothing more than to watch Jarak dismantle the idiot hunter limb-by-limb, but Larsa's upset cries and fearful look cut like a burning blade in her heart. Cursing herself for not bringing her harness, Justice climbed awkwardly onto the speeder and activated the lower steering. Taking it slow, she pulled away from the gathering of yautja and made her way through the jungle back in the direction of home.

Steering with the pressure of her thighs, Justice guided the speeder through the trail in the jungle as she cuddled Larsa closer running her fingers through the child's downy soft curls. 

"It's fine, momma is here," she soothed feeling her heart melt and break at once as Larsa nuzzled deeper into the crook of her neck. 

Gliding the speeder through the tree-line and into the clear tract of land that contained the numerous smaller black pyramids that led up to the palace, she banked the speeder left towards the south where Jarak's home sat deep in the jungle trees. 

Rubbing Larsa's back, Justice let her mind drift to her suit still no doubt sitting amongst the hive of sleeping xenomorphs on LV594. Fucking hell, why didn't she take that damn suit to work with her that day? If she had her suit then she wouldn't need Jarak to beat the shit out of any egotistical yautja that stepped up to her. She would have handled that situation with ease if she had her suit. Everything would be different if she had it, she thought as she entered the tree line of the jungle again, getting closer to home. If she had her suit that day on LV594 she may not have ever met Jarak and that-

She heard the swishing slice through the air just before she felt the searing pain to her right flank. Tightening her hold around Larsa who sat against her left hip Justice grabbed ahold of the speeder's handle bars and swerved the speeder hard to her right bumping hard against a couple of trees.

Frightened by the abrupt jostling Larsa's began to cry again, but Justice ignored it. Shielded by the trees, her now white eyes scanned the direction the shot came from as she reached down and felt the blood oozing from her flank. Seeing the arrow embedded in the ground a few yards ahead Justice's eyes narrowed. A yautja arrow. 

Beyond Larsa's cries an unnatural silence surrounded them. No hoots or calls from the long-limbed primates that resided in the tree-tops, no shrieks or chirps from the colorful birds that nested in the green canopies--just nothing. 

"It seems you are being hunted," a familiar voice spoke from the tree limbs above her causing Justice's heart to clench, but then immediately relax as she recognized the gruff voice.

"Do you see him?" Justice asked, knowing whoever her attacker was she knew for certain it was a male. Huntresses would never hide in the shadows to fight.

"No," Ookla said from her invisible spot above and Justice imagined the scarred huntresses head moving slowly from side to side as she too scanned the surroundings. "The coward has run at my presence."

"I owe you for that," Justice said as she pulled the speeder from the trees. 

Ookla said nothing, but Justice knew the huntress was still there. 

"I cannot hunt him now," Justice said indicating towards a sniffling and upset Larsa on her hip. "But I am sure Jarak won't mind taking up the hunt for me," she said more for herself than Ookla. 

Directing the speeder towards the pyramid, her mind raced at the possibilities of her attacker. Was it someone from Carnak? A human hating yautja who took offense at Jarak's retaliation? Or was it the other hunter she had been ignoring since she got to Ojibwe? The one she had only seen hints and traces of.

No matter who it was they did not want Larsa, she thought at she pulled up to the house and walked inside. But that fact would not dampen the inferno that would come when she had to tell Jarak exactly what happened.

~~

"Jarak calm down," Justice urged, her eyes following the pacing yautja. She had never seen him this mad before.

Coming in through the front door the already angry yautja had froze in place and Justice knew he had smelled the blood on her. Anger stacked on top of the still simmering rage from the spar transformed the gentle giant she had come to know. Flames of frenzied fury leapt in his sun-bright eyes until they glowed despite the bright daylight. The muscles in his wide shoulders and thick biceps packed and drew together until his body grew dense making him seem bigger and somehow larger than he already was.

Justice felt her eyes widen at the transformation of his anger, but kept her face impassive as he stomped over to her. With growling words, she could not understand, Jarak grabbed her shoulder in one clawed hand and her arm in another. Gentler than she expected, he moved her to his desire and examined her wound which was already healing under the work of her nanites. 

"Who did this?" he finally spoke so that she could understand as he gently dropped her arm back at her side.

She was standing only a few feet from him and Justice could feel the radiating heat from his big body. This was not how she planned this afternoon going, she thought disappointedly. She had expected at most lingering tense silence between them as she put Larsa down for her nap and then she expected to follow him up to his room--not this. Dammit it all, she had shaved! 

"I don't know," she answered tiredly. "I didn’t bring my rifle to the spar and when the arrow shot me," she pointed to the arrow she retrieved from the ground sitting on the kitchen counter, but Jarak was already looking at it. His long fingers wrapping around the heavy wooden bolt making it look fragile in his grasp. "Calling my gun would have been useless since Ookla was already there and getting Larsa inside was my only objective."

"I will find them," he declared with a snarl, his deep voice shaking in her chest as his hand tightened over the bolt. "And I will hang their skull above my door."

Knowing she could not convince him to hold off his plans for murder until after he fucked her like he promised, Justice sighed and gestured to Larsa laying in her crib. 

"I do not believe the hunter had the intention of harming Larsa, judging by where I was shot and the lack of a second shot," she observed.

Jarak's growl only deepened. Turning with a whip of his dreads he stomped out the door.

Alone and highly disappointed Justice turned to Larsa who lay in her crib and sat on the nearby sofa. Her thoughts replayed Ookla's words. It seems you are being hunted.

Yes, and now that Larsa was safe behind closed doors Justice allowed herself to smile as she put together the facts. It could not be a hunter from Carnak, the boisterous prideful lot would have no reason to hunt her like a coward. Only a hunter who stood to lose would do something so dishonorable. She thought of the times she felt watched before and the time the doors of the throne room banged shut in anger that day. Justice heaved a sigh and pulled out her tablet and began reading the new information from Carnak. She would let Jarak search for the dishonorable hunter, she had more important things to worry about at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n:  
> I survived the Texas snowmagedon I only went a few days without running water, so that was a blessing. I was so stressed my pipes were gonna burst. Praise the Lord they didn’t. Aint God good?!


	17. Chapter 17

"You know that Rakkah will want to speak with you about this after his current meeting with all the rest of the hunters?" Ahzma informed her as she wiped down Noko's little hands with a cleaning cloth.

Squinting from the sun, Justice twirled the yautjan spear she stole from Koga's stash idly in her hand as she nodded. "Mmm, I figured as much, but your husband will just have to wait until after our practice and after my scans with Ravki," she said looking over to Okaj who stood patiently on the other end of the clearing. "Ok Okaj, call yours to you."

All the heads of the older hounds turned towards Okaj from behind their kennel as she spoke the familiar command. Justice smirked as she watched the tiny, pup hound burst from its sitting position a few yards away and lope playfully across the open clearing towards Okaj. 

"I still can't believe a yautja on Ojibwe would attack you when you were with your child just because of an old grudge," Ember argued as she bounced and played with Larsa on her lap. 

Earlier when she got to Koga's kennels, Justice had recounted the events of yesterday to the women and watched as shock etched across each of their faces. She had explained her theory that the hunter who attacked her was most likely the hunter she had hunted years ago.

"Pride is all the yautja run off of," Justice said as she motioned for Nyla to call her pup to her. "I should have known when I saw him that day in the throne room this would be a problem. But I thought if I said nothing about him to anyone, we could both forget about it," she said with a sigh.

"And you don't know his name?"

Justice shook her head. An exchange of names wasn't really something she was going for when she stalked and captured the hunter that day years ago. He was young and so was she, they had played cat and mouse with each other in silent understanding. He would no doubt kill her if he caught her and she--well she did something worse, she left him strung up by his legs in that tree as she walked away with a victorious laugh. Her callous hubris from that day it seems had finally caught up with her. 

"So Jarak is…" Ahzma let the words linger in the air as she looked at her in question.

"Jarak stayed out all night only sending me a message this morning that he thinks the hunter left the planet and is searching through the take-offs that happened through the night; since there is no real need for permission or documentation to leave Ojibwe there are a number of them to go through."

Both women nodded at that. 

"But you haven't told anyone what the hunter looks like," Ember looked at her in confusion. "Wouldn’t that make the search easier for Jarak?"

"Well, that's the problem," Justice said giving them both a guilty smile as she fidgeted with the spear in her hand. "I did not capture an image of the yautja that day I hunted him nor when I saw him in the throne room. I did try to describe him to Jarak, but it did little to help. The hunter's armor was plain and non-descript and he has no discernable markings or coloring to his skin to really set him apart, not like Jarak or Akur. I honestly don’t know who he is. But Jarak didn't seem to care, he blames himself for not asking about the hunter before like Tyrn has been doing from day one. But I don’t see why. Jarak is not the type of yautja that enjoys hearing of others dishonor or failings."

Both women nodded and Justice could see their minds working as they tried to brainstorm on how to solve the problem. 

Running the pad of her thumb along the spear's hidden switch she retracted the blades on each end until it was short enough to put it through the belt loop of her shorts. 

Clapping her hands together she rubbed them together and gave the three little girls a wicked grin. "Ok today we will use the dummy target."

All three girls' faces lit up even though Justice was positive they had no clue what she was referring to. Walking over to the storage shed that sat next to the big kennel of hounds, Justice felt the snuffles and puffs of breath against her arm and legs as the bigger hounds moved towards the end to where she stood. Casting a narrowed gaze over her shoulder, she gave a reproachful look to Okaj when she spotted the girl letting one of the bigger hounds lick her tiny hand. Catching her gaze, Okaj immediately snatched her hand away from the big hound with a guilty look.

"Why can't we let all the hounds out?" Okaj eventually asked from behind her as Justice pulled out the stuffed dummy and the stake from the storage container. 

Shutting the doors with her foot, Justice handed Noko the stuffed dummy,4 which was nearly as big as she was as she led the girls back to their training area. 

"Because the hounds in a pack are too unpredictable, as is everything in a pack or large group," Justice instructed them as she placed the stake in the ground. "From pigs, to dogs, and most certainly people, large groups of them change their overall personality." Reaching for the stuffed dummy from Noko's hands, Justice bent to one knee closer to all three girl's eye level and began securing the dummy to the post. "Even your father Rakkah is different with all the yautja before him versus just you two, right?"

Both Nyla and Noko nodded though a little unsure.

"Even I'm different when I'm with all my sisters. Unlike you two, I cannot laugh and play with my sisters, I must be like your father and be serious and lead them."

"You don't get to play with your sisters?" Noko asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Justice shook her head and stood up, her mind bringing up the few memories she had of getting to relax and let down her guard around her sisters. They were few and far between. From briefings, constant training, and preparation for the next mission Undul put them on there was hardly any time to just sit back and enjoy. That simply wasn't her role, she was Alpha and her job was to demand optimum performance and positive results.

"Maybe when you get them back things can be different," Ember suggested softly. 

Warmth and friendship shined from both her and Ahzma's faces and Justice felt her heart tighten. Looking over to Larsa's face as she looked around from Ember's lap Justice let herself imagine the same scene, but with her sisters included. Maybe, she thought with a hopeful smile, maybe without the constant overseeing eye of Undul, without the threat to their freedom and lives maybe she could have a normal relationship with her sisters. No longer being the odd one out, the one who stayed up late separated from the rest as she went over tactics and strategies for the next day's missions, and actually getting to be seen as something more than position Alpha--wouldn’t that be wonderful.

Blinking a few times, Justice pushed down the unruly emotions welling up within her and stood up. "Ok, so the object of this exercise is to--"

Sudden barks and growls from the kennels drowned out her words. Snapping her attention to the hounds, she watched as they all piled up on one side of the kennel pressing against the fencing in slathering viciousness. Automatically her hands reached for the back of Noko and Nyla's tunics and began to pull them backward. With her senses wide open, Justice heard the scrambling feet and the panting huffs of breath before she saw the creature round the corner of the kennels. 

She only needed the briefest glance of the protruding bones jutting from its hackles and caging its face to know what kind of danger they were in. The Kurn were out.

Tightening her grip on both girls' tunics she spun on her heel spinning both girls around her in the air and bellowed out a command. "GET IN THE TREES!"

With her eyes on Ember and Larsa, Justice pushed all her energy to her legs consuming the distance between them in seconds as she carried the dangling girls in her hands. Blessedly the two women saw her panicked face and glanced at the oncoming beast over her shoulder. 

"Grab onto the branches!" she yelled out praying the girls were listening while her senses tracked the movement of Okaj's run at her heels. With two swings she flung each girl in her arms upward and immediately grabbed for Ember's waist as she unsuccessfully tried to climb the tree with one hand and Larsa in the other. 

The beast's growls were inches away and Justice could hear both Ahzma and Okaj scream out. Shoving Ember up until she practically threw the woman up the tree, Justice only took half a second to appreciate the scene of both Noko and Nyla pulling themselves up onto the branches she had thrown them onto seconds before. Turning in place Justice felt her braids in her ponytail arc in the air as she snatched the spear out of her belt loop. Just as the Kurn raced forward, the long two-feet curving bones that extended past its face and lined its back drew near her, Justice extended her spear at the bony evil face. 

The creature, twice the size of a full-grown hound, pushed its weight against her spear, but Justice held it steady allowing it to gain no ground on her as it impaled itself on the sharp end of the spear. Reaching with her free hand, Justice snatched up Okaj who huddled at her side and the tree. Quickly, she turned and tossed the girl upwards to Ahzma.

"Oh God, there's more," Ahzma gasped as she yanked Okaj into her arms and turned desperately towards the steep tree. 

"Come on," Ember screamed frantically from up the tree as she held crying Larsa in one arm and desperately reached for Okaj with her other. The frantic breaking point in the woman's eyes registered with Justice on every maternal level.

Pulling her spear from the dead creature's head, Justice ignored the legion of moving shapes running as one. Fifteen yards away--that gave her six seconds. Turning around again, she grabbed Ahzma's waist and launched the woman and child into the air, holding her arms up a second longer until she saw them both scramble and pull themselves up onto a high branch.

A yelp went through the air followed by Noko's cry. "Nooo."

Justice knew it was one of the pups without the need to confirm. Turning back the group of approaching Kurn, she counted five in the front and they were nearly on her, and seven more were coming around the corner. Feeling the responding pulse of her rifle she had less than a minute for its arrival, but that wasn't going to be enough time.

"Justice!" Ember screamed as the first Kurn jumped. 

Justice exhaled and smiled. "Let's go."

Clutching onto the thick branch with both legs, Ember held Larsa's tiny screaming body close as she watched Justice twirl the spear with deadly precision just as the first kurn of the new group jumped. Feinting to the side at the last minute, Justice stabbed the horrid creature through the cage of bones surrounding its head piercing its temple. Dark green blood sprayed from its skull, as Justice yanked the spear back out just in time for the second tip on the other end to pierce another Kurn through its neck. The creature howled and bucked its head as it rolled taking the spear with it.

Ahzma gasped from the branch beneath Ember's and clutched onto Okaj tighter as they all watched another snarling kurn use its tusked head to jab at Justice like a ram. Catching two of the thickest protruding tusks with both hands, both women and all three girls watched in shock as Justice heaved the animal off the ground with incredible strength, spinning it and herself around in a circle and hitting two more of the attacking kurn. But it wasn't enough, countless more of the bone jutting creatures launched themselves forward.

"Oh God," Ember shut her eyes as Justice let out a cry and fell to one knee as bone after bone pierced her stomach and flanks. More Kurn began to pile around her, their teeth snapping and snarls filling the air as the hounds inside their pens howled and barked in anger. 

Ember looked down to Ahzma and cried out. "Call Rakkah!" she cursed herself for not wearing her own gauntlet, but every since she started to take care of Larsa, she had stopped wearing the weapon. 

"I did, he hasn't responded!" Ahzma cried. 

Deep red blood, so forgein for the occupants of this planet, pooled from beneath the pile of grappling and snarling beast.

She was dead. It was the only thought that echoed through Ember's chest as she stared with wide eyes at the scrambling pile of kurn. Clutching onto the screaming baby into her arms harder, Ember felt the panic within her turn to tears.

Something whistled overhead and a flash of something zoomed past them into the pile of beasts.

"Look," Noko cried pointing from the branch her and her sister sat on. 

Ember began to follow the direction of the girl's finger when she saw her own daughter's widening eyes staring past the pile. Snapping her attention up, Ember screamed as three large Kurn began running towards the tree. 

With a shaking thunk the creatures threw their body weight into the thick tree shaking it. They all screamed and Ember watched as Nyla grasped for her sister, trying to steady themselves. But another crashing thunk hit the tree and Ahzma let out a frantic scream as a kurn used another as leverage and nipped at her streaming gold saree that dangled just within reach of the beasts. 

No, not Okaj, Ember's mind screamed.

A burst of sparkling black cloud filled the air like a small explosion, drawing everyone and even the Kurn's attention. Disintegrating like ash, four of the kurn in the large pile over Justice fell away and dropped to the ground in a ring of crumbling flesh. Covered in bloody wounds Justice pulled herself up from the pile, her eyes empty and bright white as she tucked her gun close to her cheek and took aim. The first shot downed the kurn at the base of the tree before she swung it around and aimed in the distance, ignoring and dodging the kurn who tried to ram at her gushing side. With her knees bent she sidestepped the creatures and let off a smaller shot before yelling.

"TO ME." 

A herd of flesh burst from the kennels and the now released hounds fell on the remaining pile of kurn with savage snarls. Heeding her command, the pack of hounds stayed together around Justice as she fired off shot after shot over their heads disintegrating one after another. Yelps and growls filled the air as hound and kurn both attacked and succumbed to the brutal battle. 

A deep ground shaking thump hit the ground near their tree and Ember's heart exploded with relief as she spotted Jarak. Another thump hit the ground and she saw Tyrn jump into the fray just as Jarak let out a deafening roar. 

"Stop fucking roaring and get my child," Justice called out, the hum of her voice more machine than human, somehow lifting over the sound of gnashing teeth and wet snarls as she took out three more of the swarming Kurn.

Picking up two kurn by their tusks Jarak used them like battering rams slamming them into other kurn and hounds alike making a path towards their tree. Ember let out a cry of happiness along with Okaj as she spotted a flash of Akur's red markings. In tears she watched as her mate and Jarak made their way towards them, their serrated blades from their gauntlets both slicing through the attacking kurn. 

"Daddy!" both Noko and Nyla cried their heads turned to the left of the clearing where Tyrn, Rakkah, and Koga killed the remaining kurn. 

Clawed hands pulled them from the tree and Ember went with tears into Jarak's arms. Carrying her over to where Ravki and Iko stood, both with their spears out to prevent any escaping kurn, Ember could feel Jarak's eyes look to Larsa as she cried in her arms. Placing her on her feet, Jarak gave Larsa one last look before leaping over the pile of dead Kurn to where Justice now stood her gun finally silent. 

"How did this happen?" Rakkah bellowed. 

Anger radiated off the leader of Ojibwe like heat on a desert floor, but Justice ignored him. She watched Jarak reach for her and held up her hand, she did not need to be coddled. But Jarak ignored her with a vicious growl. Justice bit back a scream as Jarak scooped her up from the surrounding pile of dead and held her in his arms. It felt as if every wound was reopening at once, while broken bones ground together with each movement.

"The gates were locked," Koga's voice sounded so quiet Justice wasn't sure if it was her own fading consciousness or his guilt that made him sound that way.

Rakkah's golden eyes burned like twin fires as he reached out and grabbed Koga's armor. "You will--"

"It was not Koga," she whispered but she feared no one could hear her, trees and images whirred past her as Jarak carried her no doubt to the human doctor. 

But the world around her stopped once more and she heard Jarak's threatening growl around her as he jerked his head to the side. Looking up from his arms, Justice winced at the pain as Rakkah came into view next to her.

"Speak," he commanded.

Jarak was saying something in his language and she saw Rakkah's eyes flash in anger at the colossal yautja. Quickly she spoke, "Jarak told you of the attack on me yesterday?"

Rakkah gave her a jerking nod, much too angry and impatient to receive questions and not answers.

Hearing Larsa's crying come closer, Justice sighed in relief knowing that Ember would follow her to the medical bay. Focusing her foggy mind, she recalled the details she needed to convey. 

"I checked the lock when I got here. I check it every time we train, every since Koga warned me about the Kurn. It was locked," she explained and watched as dawning realization illuminated each hunter's eyes. "Someone let them out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Check your emails around noon today 3/3/21 (for people who subscribed) got some answers to your questions in there.


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